On Saturday, August 16th, 2008… there was a pro skateboard demo at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach. The event featured Christian Hosoi & Josh Harmony doing two one hour demos, plus music from Bread of Stone. There was a public street course and miniramp. Also, food & all kinds of cool booths, and even product giveaways.

Hosoi doin’ his thing.

Christian signed a few boards for people.

Some serious talent was present on the street course.

Christian on the ramp, while Josh Harmony looks on.

More street.

After some skating, Christian spoke to everyone… sharing his story, while sending a positive message to the kids.

Dave Reul and a few other rippers were all over the miniramp and street course throughout the day. We ate some Argentinian empanadas, checked out the band, and saw some great skating. Perfect weather, near the beach helped, too.

Today (August 9th, 2008), Quiksilver hosted an all ’80s street style skateboard event. Complete with music, skateboards, and clothing… all from the era otherwise known/remembered as the ’80s.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Billy Deans.

Eddie Reategui built the course and had some great obstacles and terrain that was fully ’80s inspired. Even a Daggers van.

Josh Sandoval.

Here, he plants one on the vert corner.

Oh, yeah… there were free hot dogs, burgers, Gatorade, sodas, and waters, too.

Billy… stylin’ over the parking blocks.

Again, airing over da blocks.

In order to properly execute an ’80s skateboard event, there must be an important presence… Fish.

Another component… is Corndog. So what, if he and his skateboard are from the ’70s?

Chris Hamrock utilizes the Daggers van with a right/front fender ride.

He also found the vertical rounded corner wall to be quite happening and functional, as well.

And Corndog thought that was fairly groovy… so it was deemed as such as he celebrated by flipping his ’70s timeship down to the ground in a most exuberant manner.

Surely, this ’80s event could not take place sans Hosoi.

Christian… logging in some good airtime.

If there’s ’80s street style skateboarding taking place, it would suffice to say that Jerry Madrid would needed to be present.

Jason Parks is always quite the style master. As to be expected, he delivered… as seen here, on the parking blocks.

Also seen, over said blocks.

And here… as he flies through the vert corner.

Omar Hassan was traveling at Mach speeds as he 50-50′d towards me on the parking blocks. Had to jump outta the way after I snapped this one. Sorry ’bout that, Omar.

Again, skyin’.

Sean Mazza… through the vert corner.

The terrain builder, himself… Eddie Reategui. His skating was ON, today! Wish that I had more pictures of it. I DO know that he took first place in his division.

There were plenty of streetplants, on hand. Here’s one of Sal Barbier’s.

Local skater, Tom, in the bowl.

Patrick Ryan tore up the assorted terrain.

He and many of us sampled the bowl.

Reese Forbes was rippin’ hard!

After it was all said and done… he did what any ’80s skater would do; smash it up!

For this event album, click here. I’m told that Duane Peters won $500 for best dressed person. Don’t quote me on that, however. I didn’t stay around for the final standings.

Huge props to Quiksilver for putting this excellent skateboard event on, D.J. Peanut for handling the great ’80s tunes, Steve Olson, Lance Mountain, and the other judges, Dave Duncan for Master Of Ceremonies, and to all of the skaters and fans that showed up. And anyone else that helped make this happen. A very fun day, to say the least.

For a small moment in time, it felt like being transported back to one of my favorite decades… the ’80s.

— Independent Stage 10 Trucks Have Arrived —

Independent Stage 10 Trucks Have Arrived - well at least they have at Indy - we will have them in 2 days and up in the shop today for ordering.. We are getting plenty in so check em. All existing trucks will be released in the new Stage 10 design with most of them being available in our shop in the next few days.. Check the Independent Trucks section. Here is a list of Stage 10 Independent Trucks that will be released:

Stage 10 129 Silver Silver Trucks Standard
Stage 10 139 Silver Silver Trucks Standard
Stage 10 149 Silver Silver Trucks Standard
Stage 10 169 Silver Silver Trucks Standard
Stage 10 215 Silver Silver Trucks Standard
Stage 10 129 Silver Silver Trucks Low
Stage 10 139 Silver Silver Trucks Low
Stage 10 30th Anniversary LTD 129 Pearl White Trucks Standard
Stage 10 30th Anniversary LTD 139 Pearl White Trucks Standard
Stage 10 30th Anniversary LTD 149 Pearl White Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Haslam 129 Copper Paper Black Trucks Low
Stage 10 Haslam 139 Copper Paper Black Trucks Low
Stage 10 Rowley 129 Raw Pewter Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Rowley 139 Raw Pewter Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Reynolds 129 Matte White Ano Gold Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Reynolds 139 Matte White Ano Gold Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Koston 129 Matte Black Ano Gold Trucks Low
Stage 10 Koston 139 Matte Black Ano Gold Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Red Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Red Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Red Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Red Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Green Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Green Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Green Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Green Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Blue Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Blue Trucks Low
Stage 10 Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Blue Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Blue Trucks Standard
Stage 10 129 Gunmetal Black Trucks Standard
Stage 10 139 Gunmetal Black Trucks Standard
Stage 10 149 Gunmetal Black Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Forged Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Black Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Forged Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Black Trucks Standard
Stage 10 Forged Foil Series 129 Silver Ano Black Trucks Low
Stage 10 Forged Foil Series 139 Silver Ano Black Trucks Low

Encinitas Skatepark Pro/Am Invitational Contest Saturday June 7th

Vans Skatepark // Orange, CA // 17-May 2008
words/photos: Naka /sk8session.com
video:mhirsch/scsskate.tv

Barnum and Bailey ain’t got nothing on the Pool Party. Lions, tigers and bears, we got Knoop, Miller and Glifberg. They got death-defying acts and we have Lincoln Ueda. They land on nets, we land on concrete. This is the greatest show on earth.

Put $90,000 in prize money on the line. Invite all of the top pro bowlrders in the world and throw them into a replica of one of the best designed and most challenging pools in skateboarding history. Take Steve Van Doren and have him work the grill and act as security to keep the media back from the lip of the pool and that alone is worth a $15-20 admission ticket, but wait… the entire contest is completely free. Even though Mr. Van Doren can charge for the tickets and offset some of the cost to put on the event, he doesn’t. He buys water, hot dogs, burgers and chips. He brings Wahoos in to whip up free tacos for everyone at the event and Rockstar energy drinks brings all the fuel for the fire. The excitement in the air leading up to the contest is unlike any other. For the lucky fan that knew someone or was able to secure a ticket to get into the event, this year’s big show was pure skateboard insanity. As usual, the women kicked off the show.

Mimi Knoop (1st) and Julie Kindstrand (2nd) enjoying the results!!

With Cara-Beth out this year, it left the door open for the two front-runners, Mimi Knoop or Julie Kindstrand to take the top spot since the first Pool Party in 2005. Julie has lines that some of the pros don’t even have. She did airs over every hip in the pool and had some new tricks this year, including, laybacks in the square corner and stand up frontsides.

Julie Kindstrand Getting It Done

In the end, the judges awarded Julie with 2nd place, separated by just a point and a half from this year’s winner, Mimi Knoop. As always, Mimi came out firing on all cylinders. Even with the broken wrist, she still pulled frontside inverts, nosegrinds, frontside bonelesses and rock slides through the square corner. Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins (3rd) threw in some roll ins into the square and her usual clean ollie grab airs.

Cressy Rice Charging Bare Foot!!

Cressy Rice (9th) came in from AZ and charged the combi, padless like a backyarder, even taking a run barefoot. Eastcoaster turned Southland local, Elise Dabby was an alternate before Nicole Zuck bowed out, so Elise was able to put her combi training to the test. And in her first contest took a very respectable 6th place.

Mimi Knoop 1st Place Womens - All Style - Ripper!

The youngest competitor to enter this year was Allysha Bergado from Montclair, CA. She has been riding the combi for months now practicing for the event. Allysha pulled out some nice lines with some big backside and frontside airs along with an invert in the round to take 4th place. New Jersey native, Amelia Brodka (5th), Holly Lyons (7th), Leah Taylor (8th)and Heidi Fitzgerald (10th) rounded out the girl’s lineup. Now, on to the Masters.

 

 

Masters Top Two: Chris Miller (1st) and Steve Caballero (2nd)

There were rumors that Chris Miller would enter the pro division this year, but it turned out to be just that, a rumor. For the fourth year in a row, Miller dominated the combi with his usual sick lines and even pulled out a new one this year pulling a backside air on the finger from the square to backside lipslide back into the square. As usual, the fight was for second place.

Chris Miller King of The Combi - 1st Place Masters

Steve Caballero came through with his usual smooth style and numerous tricks, making everything look easy. He pulled out a couple of new things, including frontside shallow to invert on the finger into the square, which only took him about 3 tries to nail during practice. To no one’s surprise, Cab took second and got the bonus win for sliding 18 blocks in “Blocks for Bucks,” the Thrasher/Vans rockslide contest.

Steve Caballero 2nd in the Masters

Third place went to Pool Party first-time entrant, Nicky Guerrero. Nicky looked good all through practice and brought the same buttery goodness style and bag of tricks when it counted.

Denmark’s Nicky Guerrero stepped it up for 3rd in The Masters

Eric Nash almost didn’t make it into the finals because he was third in his heat, but was redeemed when he was granted a spot as a wildcard. Even with a sore knee, Eric worked the bowl to his advantage, and walked away with 4th place. It was a tough call for the judges between Lester Kasai and Pat Ngoho, but they decided to give 5th place to Lester. Steve Steadham skated with power and speed and took home 7th. T-Mag didn’t get all his runs after colliding with Buck Smith (9th), but still managed 8th place.

Pat Ngoho always Stylin - 6th in the Masters

Ben Schroeder is always a sight to see, but he got hurt and was only able to take two runs, so he took the 10th spot.  After the Masters had warmed up the crowd, the pros stepped in to do damage.

Pro Division Top Three ready to move on to the after party!!

With this being the third year for Bucky Lasek, and no top finish to show for it yet, he really came in mixing it up. And with Bucky vying for the $25k, everyone else had to step up too. Rune Glifberg was on fire and unstoppable. 8-9 foot tailgrabs, alley-oop kickflip indy transfer, switch kickflip in the round and even threw in a back tailslide shove-it through the square corner that almost tore the roof off. Consequently, 1st place was his.

Rune Glifberg 1st Place Pro Division

What can you say about Omar Hassan, he’s got lines like no other. His intro run was about 3 minutes long and he never stopped after that. Out of the round into 5-0 fakie around the shallow corner, heelflip frontside transfer and a 540 landed him in 2nd place. During the practice sessions, I really thought Bucky would take top honor this year. From nollie flip madonnas to heelflip frontside gay twists, he just couldn’t link it all together, but still managed 3rd place, holding off Bob Burnquist. I’m amazed that Bob can come into the combi for only a few days and ride the way he does. Frontside 360 rock slides, back smith revert in the square corner and frontside caballerials just to name a few.

Bob Burnquist - 4th Pro Division

Benji Galloway owns everything he skates, frontside inverts on the finger, front rock slides through the square corner and big airs in the round earned him 5th place. Sergie Ventura (6th) was working on some great lines during the practice sessions. He successfully aired over the finger from the square to the round during warm up, but couldn’t pull it off in the finals. 7th place belonged to Bruno Passos. Bruno is one of those skaters that you just love to watch. He skates so fast and can get transfers in places that seem impossible. Even though Josh Borden pulled a 540, he couldn’t put it all together in the finals and took the 8th spot.

Benji Galloway - 5th Pro Division

Fifteen year-old Nolan Munroe looked good in practice and warm-ups pulling madonna and even kickflip indy transfers, but didn’t get enough run-time to place higher. And the young phenom, Adam Taylor landed a wildcard spot in the finals and gave a great effort with a broken wrist and all and grabbed 10th place.

Every year, the Pool Party gets better. The skaters bring their best here to Orange County. They push themselves to their maximum potential. Like the Upland combi, the Vans combi is not a pool to disrespect. There were a short list of injured skaters this year. Among them, Cara-Beth Burnside, Lance Mountain, Jeff Grosso and Steve Alba. Adam Taylor and Mimi Knoop both broke their wrists, but still skated. And little Morgan Burgess ended up busting his wrist on a 540 attempt in the square during the contest. Other noteables from the contest, the Buck Smith and T-Mag collision and Dave Duncan hanging up on a roll in off the finger.

As far as skateboard contests go, it is the greatest show on earth. Thanks to Vans, Rockstar and all of the other sponsors that make this contest possible. We’ll see you out there next year.

Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Photos
SCS Photo Coverage
SK8Session.com Pro Division
SK8Session.com Masters Division
SK8Session.com Women’s Division
SK8Session.com Awards

SCSSKATE.TV Videos

 

Full Length Contest Footage of the Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Masters Division

 

 

Full Length Contest Footage of the Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Pro Division

Other Videos:
Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Pro Qualifiers Video
Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Pro Prelims (Coming Soon)
Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Masters Prelims (Coming Soon)
Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Women’s Division (Coming Soon)

Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008 Complete Results

Women’s division:
1. Mimi Knoop
2. Julie Kindstrand
3. Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
4. Allysha Bergado
5. Amelia Brodka
6. Elise Dabby
7. Holly Lyons
8. Lea Taylor
9. Cressey Rice
10. Heidi Fitzgerald

Masters’ Division:
1.Chris Miller
2. Steve Caballero
3. Nicky Guerrero
4. Eric Nash
5. Lester Kasai
6. Pat Ngoho
7. Steve Steadham
8. Tony Magnusson
9. Buck Smith
10. Ben Schroeder
11. Micke Alba
12. Josh Nelson
13. Lonny Hiramoto
15. Mike Barnes
16. Paul O’Hara
17. Dave Reul
18. Mike Rogers
19. Jason Parkes
20. Geoff Fletcher
22. Dave Duncan
23. Eddie Reategui

Pro Division:
1. Rune Glifberg
2. Omar Hassan
3. Bucky Lasek
4. Bob Burnquist
5. Benji Galloway
6. Sergie Ventura
7. Bruno Passos
8. Joshua Borden
9. Nolan Munroe
10. Adam Taylor
11. Tim Johnson
11. Morgan Burgess
13. Jimmy “The Greek” Marcus
13. Nolan Johnson
13. Lincoln Ueda
16. Jake Piasecki
16. Rob Lorifice
16. Josh Stafford
19. Kris Reeves
19. Rion Linderman
19. Darin “Cookiehead” Jenkins
22. Steve Reeves
22. Packy Fancher
24. Michael O’Friel

THRASHER/VANS Longest Boardslide Contest Results:
1st STEVE CABALLERO 18 blocks $1800
2nd (tie) EDDIE REATEGUI 15 1/4 blocks
2nd (tie) STEVE STEADHAM 15 1/4 blocks

Related Links:
SK8Session.com
World Cup Skateboarding
Vans
Pro-Tec
Pool Party Official Site
Vans Skatepark at the Block
Vans Skatepark at SCSP
SoCalSkateShop.com
SCSSKATE.TV

Special thanks to the Vans Media Team and Steve Van Doren for making it much easier for the media crew to cover the event this year!!