Ed Austin, 3/25/2010

I ran into some homies the other day when I went to the park after dropping the kids off at school. Even though they were just goofing around, it was still rad to watch them skate. And I think Spencer Lau could rival Cardiel on skating fast.

David Jordan - Trickipedia - Switch Heel

The Murder Squad Emerson Contest - 3-27-2010

One might think that holding a skateboard contest at a public park might be more of a headache than it's worth. But some people look at things a different way. Some people like Craig Lockwood, who put today's contest together. He decided that Jacksonville needed something different, so he, along with his friends (aka the Murder Squad) came up with an interesting idea for a contest.

Basically, everyone who signed up was placed into a 6 man heat, where everyone in that heat skated at the same time. At the end of the 5 minute jam, the top two skaters moved onto the finals. There were 6 heats of 6 people, and 6 people went at it at the end to compete for the contest. So how is that for symbolism? Funny, the numbers just ended up working out that way.

The turnout for the contest was surprisingly good. People from the beach, from Orange Park, basically every part of the Jacksonville area was represented. The skating was great, and there were more than a few "WTF" moments where someone pulled a trick out of nowhere. The judging was tough, and there were some serious debates over the finals, but in the end, Pat Schaefer from Orange Park took first, followed by Max Martin and Seth Duplois, respectively. Unfortunately, Pat fell at the end of the finals, and it was pretty serious. I'm not sure whether it was a shoulder injury or an elbow injury, but I hope pat has a speedy recovery. Congrats on the win.

(Featured picture - Gary Baucom, aka Brokeback)

-

Marshall LaFrance

Pat

Fingers

Kris Jones, and Chris Jones Behind his hand

You can check out the full photoset here.

Thanks to all those who came out, and to the sponsors, including East Center Clothing, Crown, Square One, Vans, and more that I can't remember off the top of my head. It was a good time, and I had a lot of fun.

Florida Bowlriders Cup 2010 - Part 2: Sunday at Kona

On the second and final day of Florida Bowlriders 2010, the rain came in and nearly washed the contest away. Thankfully, most of the competitors waited it out and stuck around for everything to dry. I'm glad they did, because the event ended up being one of the raddest things ever by the end of the night. While it was raining, Kona skatepark invited everyone into the clubhouse to watch movies, including a documentary on the bro bowl in Tampa. Unfortunately, I didn't head up to the park till after the rain stopped, so I missed out, but from what I hear people were having a good time regardless of the weather.

Once the pool dried out and things were skatable again, the contest started up with the pros up first-basically the order was reversed from the previous day. Just as before, the pros were ripping and pretty much everyone was on top of their game on Sunday. I actually think watching people skate the bowl at Kona was a little more exciting, just because of the fact that there was less time going from one section to the other, and more time doing tricks.

Juan Pineiro

Clay Kreiner

Steven Pineiro

Dalton Dern

Another highlight of Sunday's contest was the open am division. I said it before, but I'll say it again: these kids were nuts. Any contest where more than 2 competitors can do 540s is a decent one in my book. Unfortunately I missed most of the girls' contest and the men's category was dropped altogether, but I did catch the Masters division was was also a lot of fun to watch, minus a grisly shoulder/collarbone injury that I really wished I hadn't seen. I hope things end up alright for that skater, because he was a ripper and placed in the top 3 on Saturday.

Levi

Tim Johnson

After the contest was done with and the scores were being counted and processed, pretty much everyone in the park hit the snake run at the same time. This was quite the site to behold, with people from all age groups running back to the top of the snake as soon as they hit the bottom, over and over again. It was a constant stream of people. Not only that, but halfway into it, Kona's resident wild man pulled out the kitchen sink from Built to Shred fame. Quite a few people rode this thing down the snake, too - including Benji Galloway and his wife and park owner Martin Ramos. Martin actually rode it on his knees, going head first - insane! Equally awesome was watching Pedro Barros and his friend attempt tandem downhill riding (aka the Catamaran) while going down the snake. They were horrible at it, and kept running into people and falling all over the place. They even flew off the side of the snake at the first turn. They survived, and kept trying till the contest results were ready, but I don't think they ever made it down the whole way. It was a lot of fun though, and watching everything go down at the end of the day made me stoked for skateboarding.

For the winners of the contest, Kona had personal decks made by Deckcrafters that had a graphic created by and autographed by legend Lance Mountain himself. These things looked awesome! The awards ceremony lasted till past closing time for the park, and by the time it was done, I was ready to crash. In Summary, Bowlriders 2010 was an amazing time and I can't wait to experience it again. I want to say thanks to Martin Ramos for having me, to all the skaters for being a part of it, and to Rachel Henley for sharing the camera for the event. I hope to see all of you here again next year!

You can see the full results and more here at Kona's Website (on the right hand side). Also, I recommend befriending them on Facebook for more regular updates - you can do that here.

Florida Bowlriders Cup 2010 - Part 1: Saturday

Am phenoms, crusty old rippers, skate legends, and everything in between. That's Florida Bowlriders for you. In case you haven't been following the news on the site, or you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, The 2010 Florida Bowlriders contest series went down this past weekend, and if you didn't catch it, you missed out on some epic skating.

The 1st contest took place in a moderately secret location not far from Kona Skatepark on Saturday. The contest started off with the Groms division, then progressed through the ranks to finish off with the pro division at the end.

Though not officially built for competition, the 3-section bowl more than held up to the task. On one end of the structure lies a moderately sized circular bowl with rounded brick pool coping. Transitioning into the center miniramp section lie two roll-ins, opposite of each other. On the other side of the center miniramp lies the vert bowl, which is pretty substantial in size. Altogether, this thing is a beast, and I was amazed when I first saw it. That's one hell of a secret, this thing.

Lizzie Armanto

When I arrived at the contest, the girls division was just getting started. The girls division is always a breath of fresh air to me. This is probably because I rarely if ever get to see girls skating in person. This division featured a pretty wide range of talent, and included a 10 year old girl named Hannah, who happened to be the youngest competitor of the contest. All in all, the girls ripped and I was glad to watch.

Up next was the Open Am division, which was the biggest surprise to me. Many of these kids Had skills that could easily place them in with the pros, with tricks like 540s, kickflip melon grabs, and McTwists along with difficult lip tricks that boggled the mind. In the finals, Dalton Dern took the win with some technical gnar wizardry and even threw down a 360 ollie from the deck to the flatbottom of the vert bowl, demonstrating his all-terrain prowess. Also notable was the skating of Clay Kreiner, with a young Tony Hawk-style steez that made him a tough competitor. (and some yellow shorts to set him apart.)

After the Open Am division was the Masters, which is aptly named. Dudes like Duane Peters, Buck Smith, Lester Kasai, and Legend Chris Cook gave everyone in attendance a good show, each skater with a signature style you couldn't replicate no matter how hard you tried. These guys might be old, but they sure as hell still rip.

Steven Pineiro

Buck Smith

Duane Peters, Frontside Rock 'n' Roll

The Pro Division was expectedly insane. I never know what to expect, and this year was no exception. Notable rippers included Sky Siljeg (one of my faves to watch), Steve Reeves, Kona local Tim Johnson, and Mike Barnes. The one to watch, however, was Pedro Barros from Brazil. Not only did Barros do two nearly flawless runs, he consistently pulled big tricks during the jam format and stayed on his board longer than anyone. His bag of tricks included one foot ollies over the coping on vert, 540s, and being able to smile the whole time. For his effort, he won the first place medal. Bom Trabalho, Pedro!

Sky Siljeg

Tim Johnson

Men's Winners

Masters Division Winners

Pro Winners

At the end of the the day, the food stand opened up to everyone, and free food was available to everyone who wanted it. It was an awesome end to the first part of the contest series. Thanks for the food and the awesome memories!

Check back for part two covering Day 2 at Kona Skatepark, coming as soon as I can get a free minute to recap.

A few Questions with Benji Galloway

Sparky

Youtube.com/tameitproductions

Florida Bowlriders Cup 2010

Congrats to the winners of the first stop at Florida Bowl Riders. Looks like we are in for a rain delay on day two. A full recap is coming soon.

Help OP Park in the Upcoming Town Hall Vote!

Anjie from the OP Park left me a message yesterday regarding the future of the OP Park. Seems the park has had quite a few offers for contractors building the park, but we need to make sure the right one is picked. Those in the running include Grindline, who built the Atlantic Beach Park, and Team Pain, who built the Ed Austin Park. You be the judge on which you like best, and show up for the town council meeting and speak up on it! From an email forwarded to me:

Mayor Renninger has called a Special Council meeting for Monday, March 22 at 5:00 pm regarding the award of a bid for the Skate Park.

The agenda and supporting materials are attached.

The Town website has been updated and meeting notice posted on the front door.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.

Sarah Campbell, Town Clerk

Town of Orange Park

2042 Park Avenue

Orange Park, FL 32073

(904) 278-3018 phone

(904) 278-3025 fax

Kona Skate-In Theater @ Florida Bowlriders 2010

The Berrics - Trickipedia - 360 Flips

Travis Edwards; Filmed By Brandon Fruscella

As Seen @ Practice for Florida Bowlriders 2010

Duane Peters - Click to Enlarge

Lester Kasai

Marshall LaFrance

Tampa Am Vert Finals

Tampa Am Vert Finals 2010 - watch more skate, snow, surf, and moto videos

Bulldog Skates at Kona March 26th through March 28th

Coming on May 11th: Skate 3 Starring Jason Lee as Coach Frank

If that didn't impress you, check out the lineup of playable skaters:

Andrew Reynolds	John Cardiel
Benny Fairfax	John Rattray
Braydon Szafranski	Josh Kalis
Chris Cole	Lizard King
Chris Haslam	Lucas Puig
Colin McKay	Mark Appleyard
Dan Drehobl	Mike Carroll
Danny Way	P.J. Ladd
Darren Navarrette	Pat Duffy
Dennis Busenitz	Ray Barbee
Eric Koston	Rob Dyrdek
Jason Dill	Ryan Gallant
Joey Brezinski
Jerry Hsu	Terry Kennedy
Jason Lee (as coach Frank)

BusStop goes to Tampa Pro 2010

This year, my trip to Tampa was a no frills, just go for the contest kind of trip. I got down to Tampa on Saturday afternoon around 4 or 5, so unfortunately I missed seeing some people skate that I wish I hadn't missed, including Jacksonvillians Chris Kendall, Neal Mims, and Mike Peterson. Still, I did get to catch some good stuff, even if I didn't get a perfect spot for photos due to my tardiness. At least I got to see dudes like Jake Duncombe killing the course. Also rad to see in attendance - A good portion of the old Shorty's crew, including Peter Smolik, Brandon Turner, and Sam Baptista. After the prelims were done, I stuck around and got to see Dennis Busenitz and Kenny Anderson shredding the park well after the last runs. I don't know what the hell Busenitz eats to get his energy, but I want some of that.

Dennis Busenitz, 270 on the hip

Omar Salazar, backside tailslide on the wallride

David Gonzales

Paul Rodriguez on his way to the win

Luan Oliveira - He won Tampa Am 2 years and a row, and almost won Tampa Pro this year.

Saturday night I headed down to Ybor for a bit. First thing I did was hit up the Columbia Restaurant with my lady upon recommendation by Justin Riner. This place was seriously the best place I've eaten in a good while. (If you live in Jacksonville, you are in luck, because there is another location not too far away in St. Augustine.) After that we were off to hang out with the Board City crew and white Nate at the Czar bar. It was an alright time, but I wasn't really feeling the music. I was stoked to run into Rob Meronek and bought him a shot of god knows what. I think it was peppermint cough syrup. After that we headed out to the Reservoir bar to watch women get paddled on the ass and to read gay magazines. Well, just kidding about that last part. But they do have a good selection of them by the door if you are so inclined. It's a rad bar and great for skateboarder types, so stop by next time you are in Ybor.

Tyrone Olson, Bill Weiss

Fabrizio, Kevin Taylor, and Gershon Mosely

Adam Dyet and Photographer, zineographer Steve Ayers

Brandon Turner and Peter Smolik represented Skate Mafia while Jake Brown told me "It's Clobberin' Time".

Sheckler had some sick tricks but I didn't really see him put a big run together. Here, he did a perfect backside flip across the pyramid, and came back and did a perfect frontside flip.

The sunday finals were amazing as usual, though I was bummed to see that Jacksonville homie Mike Peterson missed the cut by getting 11th place in the prelims. In addition to P-Rod's perfect runs, I was stoked to see one of my faves, Peter Ramondetta ripping the course a new one. Torey Pudwill had some solid tricks, including a nice looking backside lipslide to tail across the box and some nice long slides on the CCS hubba ledge. Luan Oliveira had some impressive tricks, including HUGE flip tricks over the hip. When all was said and done in the the street run contest, Paul Rodriguez came out on top, with perfect runs and some sick switch tricks all over the park.

The Best trick contest was sick, but chaotic as hell with people coming from both ways to throw down on the tech center. Matt Miller took the win, he did a backside noseblunt slide AND a frontside one across the whole length of the high marble ledge. Dude was hauling ass when he did it, too.

Matt Miller's winning trick

Justin Brock and Eric Koston

Busenitz, frontside flip.

Ryan Clements and Jeff Pang Speaking at the Podium.

Fan Favorite Award: Peter Ramondetta

Thanks for Showing Up: Neal Mims. Nice to meet you, homie!

Top 3, Keegan Sauder, Paul Rodriguez, and Nyjah Huston.

In closing, I'd like to thank Ryan Clements, Brian Schaefer and the Skatepark of Tampa for having me, and all the skaters who supported the contest by showing up. It was a rad time. Oh, and thanks to Mike Peterson for the interview. See you all next year!

Final Results

1. 1. Paul Rodriguez – $20,000
2. 2. Nyjah Huston – $15,000
3. 3. Keegan Sauder – $10,000
4. 4. Peter Ramondetta – $5000
5. 5. Ryan Sheckler – $4000
6. 6. Torey Pudwill – $3000
7. 7. Luan Oliveira – $2000
8. 8. Danny Fuenzalida – $1500
9. 9. Greg Lutzka – $1000
10. 10. Chaz Ortiz – $1000
11. 11. Dennis Busenitz – $1000
12. 12. John Rattray – $1000

Best Trick

1. 1. Matt Miller – Backside noseblunt slide – $3000
2. 2. Torey Pudwill – Front feeble up the a rail, shove it out – $2000
3. 3. Seirra Fellers – Nose manual nollie flip out – $1000