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« Previous Entries Next Entries »Volcom’s 2009 Wild in the Parks
posted Thursday, October 1st, 2009There’s a memorable quote in Field of Dreams that, I’m pretty sure, everybody has heard: “If you build it, he will come.” It’s the ‘The Voice’ Ray Kinsella hears that prompts him to level his corn crop and build a baseball diamond. Well, I’ve got a quote, “if you build it, they will skate it.” … and most likely, they will destroy it.
Tactics riders Nick Propios and Oudalay Philavanh qualified for the 2009 Wild in the Parks championships earlier this summer by impressing the judges at the Portland, Oregon event. The championships, held this past weekend in Peoria, Arizona, brought the nation’s top ams together for a one-day, blazing hot, shred-fest.
Notable heavies included Arizona’s own Nick Fiorini and Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, but everyone who skated killed it. And not like, “oh, yeah, they landed their tricks and people cheered.” I mean they F’in KILLED IT! The skate rats in the 14 and under division were up first and immediately got work terrorizing everything in front of them. Hardflip down the 10-stair second try? Check. Backside 360 ollie first try? Check. I felt like I was in a tool shed, hammers everywhere.
But instead of recapping you on every trick that went down–Volcom’s got you covered–we’re going to follow the Tactics skate team on their Wild Arizona Weekend.
Early Morning Wake Up Calls–4:00 a.m. rendezvous at Tactics
The crew, which consisted of Oudalay, Nick, Justin James and me, needed to catch a 5:20 a.m. flight from Eugene to Portland, and from Portland we’d head south to Phoenix. We met up at Tactics at 4:00 a.m. and team manager Eric drove the four of us to the airport. I decided staying up all night would be the best way to make the 4:00 a.m. rendezvous. Yeah, right…what a great idea.
Still Day One–Phoenix is hot!
We rolled into Phoenix around 11:00 a.m. Friday morning and it was already 90+ degrees (Note: rocking no socks, no matter how ‘cool’ it looks, might work in Oregon, but it definitely does not work in Arizona). The shuttle that took us to Peoria blew past the designated pickup spot and had to quickly reverse to pick us up. Immediately we all started thinking, “Who the hell is driving this thing!?” The drive was sketchy. Our driver was distracted by everything around him, from clip boards to cell phones to tiny forms he needed signed. He got us to the hotel in one piece, so I guess it wasn’t that bad. Plus, he was wearing Vans slip-ons, and that counts for something, right? We skated to the park shortly after checking in, but only after hitting up the In and Out Burger across the street.
Day Two–Get Wild
The championships was on Saturday, September 26th. We started the day with a continental breakfast and then skated to the park. Word on the street was that it was going to hit a record 107 degrees. At one point I heard it was 105, but I don’t know if it ever made it to the aforementioned record. Either way, it was damn hot. Nick and Oudalay skated well, but the talent level was off the charts. Some of the notable tricks included a backside flip up and over the picnic table, kickflip back tail down the 10-stair (twice, the first one was ‘too’ sketchy), 360 hardflip down the 10, multiple kickflip front boards and backside lipslides. Yeah, the skating was insane and it’s going to be fun seeing these rippers get older and better. One of the major highlights of the day happened when some skater saw Oudalay’s ‘The Hundreds’ sticker and rolled up to ask if he wanted to skate the comp because he collided with someone and his leg was jacked. Oudalay was already registered, so we gave the dude’s registration number to Justin and Justin got to skate the contest. He was so hyped! Anyways, check the days photos below.
And Then It Was Over–Late Nights, Head Home
So the contest wrapped and it was an amazing place to be. All of us couldn’t get over how good these kids were. Seeing photos and video doesn’t even come close to describing the skill these kids possess; too many ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ for one weekend. Seeing amazing skating from young rippers…it’s hard to describe. I think about Eugene, I think about the talent coming out of this town. Yeah, we have skaters who kill it, but not at such a young age. I think, “Why are these kids so good? Where did they learn such good board control?” And then I remember many of these kids come from places with amazing skateparks and I think, “If you build it…”
Thrasher Presents Under the Bridge, a DIY video
posted Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009Thrasher’s newest DVD title Under the Bridge pays homage to all the DIY skateparks around the globe by recognizing some of the most influential. To get hyped for this DVD release, check out the six minute OPB documentary below that profiles the original DIY skatepark, Burnside.
Listen to Christian Hosoi as he explains what Under the Bridge is all about in the trailer below.
Product Review: éS Square One Skate Shoe
posted Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Tactics recently picked up a video camera and we’re diving headfirst into the world of moving images. No dabbling, no just getting our toes wet. We’re committed and we’ll be doing our best to provide high-quality video content for all of you. With that said, it’s still new to us and we’re learning day by day, shot by shot.
In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be profiling companies, reviewing products we’re hyped on, teaching you about the newest snowboard tech and outerwear features and talking to you about all things snow/skate/surf.
In our very first video, Benson will be explaining why he’s hyped to be skating and filming in the éS Square One Skate Shoe, a vulcanized version of one of the best selling skate shoes of all time, the éS Accel.
Here’s the Scuba Steve Square One displaying the filmer logo at the heel and the yellow, white, and red RCA output eyelets. For all you filmers out there, the Scuba Steve model utilizes a softer sole designed to eliminate the screeching sound of rubber when dragging your foot while filming lines with your buddys. Now get out there and skate!
LRG Skate Team at Cal Young Skatepark
posted Tuesday, September 8th, 2009Lifted Reasearch Group (LRG) is a “creative lifestyle clothing company” founded ten years ago in Santa Ana, California. LRG’s focus is on “those trying to pay their rent with their passions” and the company is doing just that with their current skate team.
On Sunday, September 6th, the LRG team, including Jackson Curtin, Chico Brenes, Adelmo Jr., Andrew Langi, Rob Gonzalez and Kelly Hart, stopped by Cal Young Skatepark to shred with the locals. I overheard several Cal Young locals complain, “I don’t want to skate with the LRG team, I just want to skate.” Some of these people even took off. Oh well, their loss cause
So there’s pros at Cal Young; people who pay their bills by riding a skateboard and the best part of seeing these pros is seeing them get hyped on your friends. Tactics rider Zach Bird threw down multiple tricks on the rail and over the pyramid and it was cool to see how down to earth people like Rob G and Jack Curtin were, getting hyped on Zach. Don’t get me wrong, Zach kills it on a skateboard–nollie backside flip over the pyramid first try–but seeing the LRG team smiling and clapping for Zach was pretty cool.
Anyways, the turnout wasn’t great, but quality over quantity, right? Here’s several photos from the session.
Don’t forget to check out the LRG Promo “Monkeys and Marbles” as the team travels to Thailand and China gathering clips for the full length video set to be released in 2010.
LRG VISUALLY HEARD / Monkeys & Marbles Preview from LRG on Vimeo.
Skate Like a Girl
posted Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Skate Like a Girl is an organization of women whose vision is empower young girls and women to help them grow into strong, confident leaders. SLAG’s mission is to “promote female skateboarding by fostering confidence in girls & women to skateboard and take leadership in their communities.”
SLAG stopped by the Tactics ramp a couple weeks ago for a late night session with our very own Vanessa Heilmann and was kind enough to post the footage for us. Enjoy this girl only skate jam from the Tactics mini ramp.