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Volcom’s 2009 Wild in the Parks

posted Thursday, October 1st, 2009
 

There’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…”

Tactics sends off employee with a BBQ

posted Monday, September 14th, 2009
 

Drew Banks is a long time Tactics employee who often gets the bug to get out of Eugene.  In the two years I’ve been here, Drew has gone to Japan, London and Northern California for extended times to work, skate, and enjoy life. 

Drew recently decided to tackle the East Bay and is moving to Berkeley at the end of the month with plans of going to school, filming, and skating.  With the amazing Bay Area skate scene around him, we’re excited to send Drew off on his next adventure and hyped to see him come back…he always does.

Tactics had a bar-b-que this past Friday to bid farewell to Drew and as the sun set over Eugene, Tactics employees, friends, and family enjoyed good tunes, great food, and even better company.  Check out the photos below to see who make this machine called Tactics run smoothly.

Skaters for Eugene Skateparks Churchill Skate Jam

posted Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
 

On Thursday, August 27th, Skaters for Eugene Skateparks put the F-U-N back in skateboarding.  Wait, there’s no F-U-N in ’skateboarding,’ right?  Well, if you were at the Churchill Skate Jam, you would have seen a whole lot of fun going down.  Doubles lines in the deep bowl, doubles lines on the punk wall, and high five on the twinkie.  Good food, great people, and some amazing skateboarding.  In case you missed the fun, we put together a short clip for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Results:

12 and under division

  1. Joey Michael
  2. Jonathan Hammans
  3. Jacob Chaffee
  4. Brian Fitzgerald
  5. Draven Lawson
  6. Brenden Lawson

13 - 16 division

  1. K.C. Stalcup
  2. Tyler Percell
  3. Keanan Stansberry
  4. Jacob Gay
  5. Alex Cribbs
  6. Cody Hall

17 & up/sponsored division

  1. Nick Ricker
  2. Justin James
  3. Oudalay Philavanh
  4. Anthony Ciotti
  5. Kenny Lander & Slade Brasnell
  6. Kai Dakers & Jordan Brandt
  7. Nick Propios
  8. Jensen Tittlefitz
  9. Mick Bucknell

 

From now til Labor Day, save some cash at Tactics

posted Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
 

Hey all you local Eugene heads, listen up!  The summer is slowly coming to an end (we don’t like it just as much as you) and fall is just around the corner.  September and October means back to school for many of you and Tactics wants to show our appreciation with a li’l back-to-school sale.

From now until Labor Day, which is Monday, September 7th, Tactics is having a back-to-school sale for in-store purchases only.  Check out the breakdown of discounts below and head to our retail shop on the corner of 4th and Lawrence for some serious savings as you gear up to head back to school.

Back to School Sale

FINE PRINT: Back To School Sale discounts are applicable to product’s full price.  This offer is available in-store only and excludes items already on sale.  Cannot be combined with any other offer.  Sale ends Sept. 7, 2009.

Vans BBQ

posted Friday, August 14th, 2009
 

Free gear, waffles, BBQ, drinks and a huge sale.  We hyped up the Vans Bus Tour as THE place to be on Wednesday, August 5th.  Tactics was getting calls all morning, “Is the Vans bus going to be at Tactics today!?”  “Who’s all going to be there to sign my shoes?”  “What time should I get there for the BBQ?”  All these calls were, unfortunately, given the same response: “Sorry to get your hopes up, but Vans canceled their tour.  We’re still BBQ-ing though!” 

The Vans merchandising rep still showed up, set up shop, and held down the grill for a couple hours.  All the kids skated in the front parking lot and people seemed to be enjoying themselves.  It was a good time and we hope to the Bus Tour reschedules cause there was a ton of interest from the local skaters.  Check the photos below from Tactics lensman Jesse “Wetrat” Johnson.

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