Moving to Wordpress

Ok, I give in. There are a few things about Wordpress that are better. I am moving everything to soreeyesports, check it out.

Twinterview with Willy Santos - Exclusive!

Willy Santos (@WillySantos) is a San Diego skate legend.  He has been skating for well over 20 years, and if you have seen any of his many video parts you know this.  He owns and operates one of the best skate shops in the the city, Willy's Workshop.  He shreds the Rancho Penasquitos skate park (that he helped get built) as often as you drink water, it does help it's almost next door to his shop.  I feel extremely lucky he answered a few of my questions. 

Q.  Who are your sponsors? (got to give them their plugs)

A.  Birdhouse Skateboards (@birdhouse)

Orion Trucks

Satori Wheels (@satorimovement)

Upful Bolts (@upful)

Ironhorse Griptape

Arnette (@arnetteeyewear)

Willys Workshop (@WillysWorkshop)

Q.  Your shop just crossed the 10yr mark, how proud of that are you?

A.  I'm really proud that we made it this far.  I can't believe how time sure does fly.  Let's go for another 50 years.

Q.  What was the inspiration for your new Birdhouse deck?

A.  In the Philippines one of the public transportation is the Jeepney so we did that as my last Birdhouse deck now with my new one we did the Tricycle.  

I've been running the Philippines theme the last 5 decks. 

Q.  What trucks, wheels, bearings do you ride?


A. I ride Orion Trucks, Ninja abec 7 & Satori 52mm Wheels

Q.  How long did it take you to learn impossible tail grabs? (freakin sweet trick by the way!)

A.  I use to do that trick alot in the early 90's.  I was playing a friend a game of SKATE & he did an Ollie Impossible & I was thinking out loud... so I tried doing Ollie Impossible Tailgrabs again.  After a couple tries I made some.  So thanks to my friend Mitchell he got me stoked on doing Impossibles again.

Video interlude of Willy shredding PQ Park, watch for the ollie impossible tail grab, a sweet 540 to bank, and great slides and manuals:

Q.  How close are you to getting the Mira Mesa Skate Park actually started?

A.  We are still very far from getting the Mira Mesa Skate Plaza but the Mira Mesa town council is for it.  We've got to raise between $200-300 Thousand dollars.  We have sent out a bunch of paper work to get Foundation going so it's going to happen in the very near future.  Our next big fund raiser is a Silent Auction of Used Skateboard Art.  Check out http://www.miramesaskatepark.org/ for updates.

Thanks for this little interview Brian & supporting skateboarding.  Let's make 2011 awesome!


No Willy, thank you for taking the time out of your extremely busy schedule to answer a few questions for one of your biggest fans.  I am so stoked to get this chance to share a little insight into your world, one that every San Diego skater wishes he was a part of.  Thanks and thanks again!

UGC T - Shirt Giveaway #1

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I am giving away the first in a series of Ts the UGC has sent me to share. Check out all their goods at Underground Clown.com.  Here is a look at the shirt:


This contest is closed, @KissesForUsAllis the winner!  More contests soon, stay tuned!

My direct blog followers are automatically entered into all my giveaways.
The point of this is UGC are good people making goods products for the right reasons and I think our world needs more of that. Supporting UGC supports many local charities that help real people everyday. Visit their site, grab their gear, and check out their blog.

Stereo Agency Thursday: 6th St. Office Party

Stereo knows how to throw an office party, mini ramp jam style. This week's video is a good one, check it out:



Make sure to visit and support Stereo by clicking here.

Twinterview with Spencer Nuzzi - Exclusive!

Southern California is a hot bed for skateboard talent, and Spencer is a shining example of this. Look him up, watch a few youtube videos and you will see what I mean. Just returning home from the Birdhouse tour that ended last month, Spencer (@SpencerNuzzi) answers a few questions.

Q. Who do you ride for? Who are your sponsors?

A. I ride for @birdhouse @THEEVETRUCKS @Armourdillo @willysworkshop

Q. Will you be skating at the Fil-am this Saturday at Memorial park? - I asked this question right before I seriously sprained my ankle. Yes, Spencer rode at this festival, have a look at a little video.



Q. When skating do you prefer natural street terrain or skate parks?

A. I love to skate everything. Either or for me. Just no ice rinks or turf.

Q. What size trucks and wheels do you ride?

A. 8in @THEEVETRUCKS and 52mm wheels

As a bonus, here is Spencer ripping it up in OVERdose!

Southern California Skaters Dominate Dew Tour Vert!

Some of the world's greatest vert skaters live in Southern California. The Dew Tour Vert Championships, which took place today in Las Vegas, gave the nation an opportunity to see them in action. The podium was swept by 3 skaters from So Cal - Shaun White took first, Pierre-Luc Gagnon came in second, and Andy Macdonald landed in third. I'm sure you knew Shaun was from So Cal, but did you know both Pierre and Andy reside here?

Outside the top 3 finishers were Bucky Lasek, Rune Glifberg, Sandro Dias, Rob Lorifice, and Marcelo Bastos, and that's just who made the final! That's right, 8 out of 10 vert finalists live in Southern California. They skate together and continuously push each other, and their sport, to new levels.

Those aren't all the awesome So Cal skaters who took part in the Dew Tour. Danny Mayer, Bob Burnquist, Adam Taylor, Alex Perelson, Josh Stafford, and Paul-Luc Ronchetti all scored points at various stops this year.

Some of the reasons so many athletes choose Southern California include the great weather (of course), the fact that this is the birthplace of skateboarding in general, and the tremendous influence Tony Hawk has had on San Diego County skateboarding facilities. It is because of Tony Hawk (and many other skaters, including Andy Macdonald) that there are 2 world class vert ramps here in San Diego. Ecke Family Y.M.C.A. in Encinitas is home to the vert ramp from the 2003 X Games, and the ramp from the 2006 X Games lives at the Krause Family Y.M.C.A. in Clairemont.  So Cal is also home to THI headquarters (Tony Hawk's personal training facility), as well as PLG's DC Shoes facility.  How long will we be lucky enough to have the best vert skaters mainly in one location?  It is a special time to be vert fan in Southern California.

One day this summer I was lucky enough to stop by the Krause Y.M.C.A. skate park to find Andy Macdonald skating the vert ramp. He had a filmer and a photographer with him from Allisports. I had the pleasure, along with about seven or eight other people, of seeing Andy land a brand new trick. It was awesome to see him work through the challenges of this crazy inverted body varial 540 that day. It really showed me Andy's determination to be innovative in his skating. While watching the Dew Tour Finals today, Andy threw that new trick for the first time in a run! I was so stoked for Andy, and thrilled I got to see it before the world!

UGC Skatedeck Giveaway!

The Underground Clown is leaving New York and infiltrating San Diego. The UGC is a great clothing and skateboard company started out of tragedy.  The owner's close friend, Cory Pelzer, was murdered (still not solved) in 2001, and this company is a way to keep Cory's essence alive and well.  The UGC donates a portion of their proceeds to local charities in Cory's name.  Personally, I like their style, message, and the fact they just started a local skate team with a 14yr old named Nico.  Doing it up and giving back, you can't get much better than that.

From Drop Box

Now the good part.  I am giving away this great skate deck as soon as we get @THEUGC over 250 followers!  Here's the rules:

1. Follow @THEUGC by clicking here!
2. Follow me with any button on my blog or click here!

This contest is closed, @mothboy420 is the winner! Congrats!

Check out Nico and his crew cruisin around New York!

Brian Gille new flow rider for Stereo Skate!

In this weeks Agency Thursday: Who Dat? we have new Stereo Skate flow rider Brian Gille.  Brian is a local San Diego shredder and SDSU student.  Check out this video of him rippin it up and watch out for this guy, he's moving up the skating ranks.

New Wellborn Ad Starring Joey Adamczyk

This is a great shot! It's crazy how far away from the wall he is.  As a bonus Wellborn sent me this clip of Joey getting the shot and rolling away clean.  Support skater owned companies!

Home Town Heroes Tour Video 2010!

The Home Town Heroes Tour is a nationwide search for the best amateur skateboarders. To accomplish this feat, they pile a bunch of serious shredders in a van and drive across the country, throwing amateur contests and killing every spot they can find along the way. The lucky finalists get to go to X games and compete in the championship. This video is the distilled account of the tour, the shredders' experiences and the good skate life. We definitely need more tours and contests in the spirit of Home Town Heroes! Have fun, skate hard - what could be better? Check out the video; hopefully we can get them to stop in San Diego next year!

The best skateboard trick ever! Bob gets the Mega 9!

Bob Burnquist is one of the greatest skaters of all time. You know this, but do you know he has landed the greatest trick of all time? I was lucky enough to be at X Games when he tried to land a 900 on the Megaramp and have a Canon T2 that I borrowed from an awesome friend to film it. That is the first video below, which by the way, is the most watched clip I have ever put on the interwebs. It was sitting at over 9700 views as I was writing this post. Check it out, and if you want to skip the intro music, the action starts around 39 seconds in.



Now for the big show, Bob landed this trick a few days ago and just posted the video on Skateboard.tv. I am amazed this went down. I was amazed he even had this in his mind to try. Bob, if you happen to read this someday, thank you for always pushing skateboarding to the next level, you are truly a genius standing on some wood.

Street League Phoenix Video

My buddies at Turf Global don't really like rules, that's why they do things their way. If you don't know about them, get over to Turf Global and pick up some of the best, often imitated, board graphics going today. These guys skate hard. Street League officially has a no cameras policy, but somehow we still get to see this. Have a look and remember to support Turf, real skaters bringing you real gear.



Now check out the teaser for their next skate flick, Lavendre:

Ogio Snowboard Bag Giveaway! Today!

This weeks' giveaway is sponsored by the Adams Avenue Integrative Health, a great health clinic here in San Diego!  They offer acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, energy Healing, naturopathy, nutritional counseling, orthotics, detox foot baths, and put on many community events. They are located at 3239 Adams Avenue San Diego, CA 92116 and can be reached at 619-546-4806.  Visit and support a non-profit group that's making a difference in our world.

This weeks' prize is a limited edition (Scion) Ogio snowboard/ski bag.  This bag will set you apart from the rest with great graphics,  roller blade wheels, and great protection for your board/skis. This prize will be given away on Friday, September 10th!

Contest is now closed, Adam Banton is the winner!

Dylan Rieder is serious!

Gravis Shoes just dropped this Dylan Rieder video part on the globe and it kicks ass! Dylan is a serious, natural terrain street skater with power in each push to be envious of. His skating is aggressive, big, and he shows no fear of the biggest drops. Watch out for the biggest ollie impossible tail grab I have ever seen! This video is too good not to share, so get to it.

If you don't believe me that this video is special, take a look at the Fuel TV report from the premiere below.

Mondays with Mike V: Episode 17

Mike is out on the road with his Glory bound Tour and checked it with this episode. The crew is not afraid of roller skates, big slams, tour life, guitars, or serious shredding. Check out the video and learn why "skateboarding is still sacred here!"



Stay in touch with the Glory Bound Tour by clicking here!

X Games was Amazing!

Travis Pastrana's victory double backflip!

If you follow me then you know I was lucky enough to go to X Games 16. X Games always delivers serious excitement and this year was no different. I attended the Megaramp events, Rally Car events, Moto X freestyle, and all the Vert events.

And Buckworth front flip BMX Big Air warmups

It was crazy to meet several X Games athletes including Gary Young and Simon Tabron, both who live right here in San Diego. Most X Games athletes are very approachable and happy to shake your hand. I have too many pictures to share them all, so here are a few good shots and my 3 most popular X Games 16 videos:


Bob Burnquist attempts the first 900 on the Megaramp, bar far the most popular video:


In second place we have Piere Luc-Gagnon with his Gold Medal Best Trick!:


In third is Chad Kagy's Gold Medal BMX Big Air run:


I can't wait for Winter X Games or next year's Summer X Games. The athletes really put down the best show they can for X and it shows. So many riders we obviously in large amounts of pain and fighting serious injuries for the chance at a Gold Medal. It really stood out in Vert and Vert Best Trick for me. Danny Mayer was suffering from severe neck pain from a compressed disc injury yet he threw down great runs, and in best trick landed a kickflip Mc Twist. Watch for more photos or videos from my X Games trip in the future, and to view all 17 of my x Games videos, click here.

The Wiley One Plays Krause Family YMCA

Last Friday July 23rd, The Wiley One, in connection with the Connect the Dots Biobus Tour, played a solar-powered concert at the Krause Family YMCA skatepark. This skatepark allows BMX riding, has a good street course, nice park area, smooth concrete pool, and a giant vert ramp that was first used at the 2006 X Games.

The Wiley One are currently on a tour of the west coast, leading up to their performance at the X Games on Thursday, July 27th at the L.A. Coliseum.

The Connect the Dots Tour is helping to raise awareness about our energy usage. The Biobus is a former school bus turned mobile classroom for renewable energy and climate science. It runs on recaptured vegetable oil and is equipped with solar panels, which provide all the energy they need to their deliver free multimedia presentations about climate change, as well as to power their concerts. If you'd like to help out (and you know you do!), text DOT (Do One Thing) to 30644. It's a free text but will show your support for sustaining our environment.

In between sets powered by the sun, The Wiley One, Sundawg Records staff and support crew hung out and skated with some of the local kids and passed out Peace Tea, who is another sponsor of the tour. 

It's apparent when watching these guys play and chill together that they're having a blast!  It's also clear that they really believe in the message of the C.T.D. Tour.  How many bands have a live beat box on stage with them?  Not enough, if you ask me!

Sundiego Vans Am Slam stop #3!

The Sun Diego Vans Am Slam hit Chula Vista on 7/17/10 for the third stop of the tour. The tour culminates with a championship contest at the Vans skatepark in O.C. If you are not familiar with this tour, take it from me that you need to get out to the next stop on 8/28/10 at the Carmel Valley skatepark. There is incredible amateur skating happening right here in San Diego. You will not believe how amazing these skaters are. These riders will melt your face with amazing tricks and powerful skating. Each stop I am blown away that the riders can keep up this level of riding stop after stop.
  

In the 13 and under division you had skaters as young as 6 showing the crowd what they have. It was great to see some of the smaller kids not being afraid to mix it up with the bigger kids. The three kids on the podium had great use of the park and tricks that were well above their age.  The results had Alexis Ramirez in third, Zach Saraceno in second, and Rene Serrano with the win. Zach and Rene are only 100 points apart going into the next stop.

Things started to get hotter with the 14-16 division.  They took the riding to another level.  Big airs, use of the whole park, and long grinds stuck out to me in this group.  I was impressed that at this age they were kick flipping down 6 stair sets and pulling long board slides.  In the end, creative use of the park helped propel the winners to the podium.  Diego Navarez gets third, Eric Winkowski comes in second, Peejay Encina gets the win.  Peejay has a big points lead going forward.

Moving into the 17 and over division the skating just keeps getting better.  Higher airs, longer grinds, kick flips into board slides, and tre flips and big spins down the 6 stairs stood out in this division.  Use of the park, creative and flowing lines, and big tricks were necessary to get on the podium. Patrick Swiggs had the best combination and took the win, Joshua Briggs gets second, and Dolan Stearns earns third.  Patrick and Dolan are very close in points, look for these two to step it up moving forward.

Now on to the money round. The open division is where the big show is, and these skaters delivered. This group is really close to making it to the big league AM contests, and you will hear about several of these riders in the near future. These guys really used the park to it's fullest.  The crowd had to get out of the way a few times to allow these skaters to go places that no one expected.  Kick flips into manuals, flip in shove it out board slides, the biggest airs, and tricking the biggest obstacles were par for this division.  There were lots of contestants so this division had 3 jams and a big final.  If you have not had the chance to watch a quality skating competition with 9 or 10 skater jams you are really missing out on a great show.  There are skaters all over the place with non-stop tricks being thrown each second.  In the final the skating only got better.  Full park use, the biggest tricks on the most difficult obstacles, and style had to all come together to place in this tough division.  At the end of the day Jake Hill gets third, Brandon Villanueva lands in second, and Bryant Chapo gets his second win of the tour.  Brendan has a 600 point lead on Bryant, but Bryant has two wins.  This division will not be decided until the end in Oceanside.

The trick of the day is usually quite difficult to decide, but Ivan Ortiz's frontside bigspin off the waterfall roll in to flat easily stood out.  This is a giant trick he did with a 12 foot fall to flat concrete. 

To view the schedule for the remaining stops of the tour click here., or visit SunDiego.com.  To view all my photos, more than 150, from this contest, click here!

Photographers protect your images!

I stumbled on this article from twitter, and I am shocked that a company with the reputation Grenade Gloves has that they would treat another professional in the same industry this way. This post is from Chris Messevery Photography, a great photographer whether shooting action sports or not. He has been taken advantage of, had his copyright violated, and all this could have been avoided with some communication and a small fee for using his image for commercial gain. Read his post on the subject, and remember to keep your images protected.

Travis Rice - Monarch Post

Check out the Red Bull Chronicles Teaser with a great interview as posted by the Monarch Post:

Travis Rice Exclusive Interview from Trinity Ludlow-Monarch Post on Vimeo.

Travis Rice born October 9, 1982. Whilst shooting in Alaska last month ‘The Red Bull Chronicles’ had Curt ask Travis a couple of Q’s for us on a down day. The interview features in Ep 12 of the 24 part series about to launch on the global networks. In 2008 Rice co-produced with filmmaker Curt Morgan one of the biggest budget blockbuster snowboard films of its time “Thats It Thats All” NZ not only featured in the opening section but also hosted the World Premier in Wanaka. It took film making in the mountains to another level. Amid the never-ending mission to find pure adventure Travis has already begun production on Chapter 2 – “Flight” With Brain Farm Cinema on your team who come armed with the in house Ciniflex V14, a Phantom HD Gold Cam, A Red One and a Varicam 3700 + enough glass to blow out any rockstars excess baggage allowance. Add in a mass heli budget, a storage shed with trucks, quads, sleds, camera rigs.. Then top it all off with a dream line up of riders… oh and a 730 day window to produce it all! You know when it comes out its going to once again step it up a notch and set the bench mark for all those pro riders trying to build their film sections and leave winter film makers to dream some more. Here is what Mr Rice had to say. Chur Chur boys… Looking forward to seeing it all happen! Phantom that Shizza up! Stock footage: Red Bull NZ www.redbull.co.nz/ www.thatsit-thatsall.com www.brainfarmcinema.com

Sun Diego Vans Am Slam hits Chula Vista!

The Sun Diego Vans Am Slam arrives in Chula Vista on Saturday. This is the third stop on the tour leading to the championships at the Vans skate compound in LA.

If you have not been to this great, FREE event, I want you to realize you are missing some amazing skating right here in the best city for action sports, San Diego!  Want to see what went down at the last stop?  Take a look at my pictures!

Ryan Nyquist Returns to Vert!

If you follow Ryan on twitter (@ryannyquist) you already know that he accidentally checked the vert box when signing up for the Dew Tour (@thedewtour).  He asked his twitter followers if he should go through with it, and we all told him to.  Showing us he is not afraid of a challenge, Nyquist will ride vert at a contest for the first time in 8 or 9 years.  Have a look at a teaser of him on a vert ramp; so nice to see him getting 10' above the deck.  Jamie Bestwick, Chad Kagy, Steve McCann, and the rest of the vert riders better watch out!


Ryan Nyquist Vert Session from Haro Bikes on Vimeo.

The Dew Tour BMX Open goes down in Chicago July 23&24, so get there or set your DVR so you don't miss Nyquist making a great contest a little more interesting.

Pierce Howell & Parker Heath - Future BMX Stars!

At the Gatorade Free Flow Tour stop in Perris, CA on June 24, 2010, I was lucky enough to meet Pierce Howell and Parker Heath. They are best friends from right here in San Diego, call Krause Family YMCA skate/bike park their home park (mine too!), and completely rip it up on their bikes. In Perris, Pierce won the Junior Division and Parker placed 3rd. Recently I was able to meet up with both of them at the park, get some shots, and ask them a few questions.

Let's start with Parker:

• He is sponsored by Freestyle USA & Psycho Wear.
  
• His dad took him to Boom Boom Huck Jam and he has been into action sports ever since.
• He is a big Dave Mirra fan.
• His favorite bikes are Haro, Sabrosa, and Hoffman.
• His favorite tricks include Tuck No Handers, No Foot Cans, and Nothings.

What really sticks out to me about these two riders is the way their friendship helps to push each other to better riding. At the park, it was clear they are a level above most of the other kids. Even older teenagers were staring at the moves these two had. They encourage each other, feed off each other, and really dig landing tricks.

Now on to Pierce:

• He is sponsored by Division 26 and Psycho Wear
• He has always loved action sports, drifted towards BMX after seeing a Triple Crown event.
• He is a fan of Dennis Mc Coy.
• His favorite bikes are Haro, S&M, and Sabrosa.
• His favorite tricks are No Foot Cans, Tuck No Handers, and Supermans.

The point of this story is to show you the level of talent coming up. These kids are already great riders, riding the biggest obstacles, throwing great tricks, and they're only 12! I can't wait to watch them grow into big name pros. If you own a company, you'd be foolish not to sponsor these kids and ride their coattails. They will rep your brand right. To see more shots of these two awesome rippers, click here.

Mike Vallely #13 - DIY or Die!

Here is Mike's new Mondays Episode #13.  In this episode we get to see a retrospective of Mike's leading up to this moment.  The moment he starts his new company, Do it Yourself or Die!  Check the video, and support this team started by one of the best in the biz!

The Wiley One Connect the Dots Tour hits So Cal 7/21

The Wiley One are bringing their new songs and environmentally conscious message to Southern California. This video talks about the innovative bus they will be traveling on:



To see the tour poster with all the dates, click here.

The biggest shows on the list for me are 7/23 at The Krause Family YMCA skate/bike park and the 7/24 Surfrider Mission Beach Clean Up. The Krauss Family YMCA is located at 3401 Clairemont Dr, San Diego, 92117. At the skate park, there will be a skate demo, solar powered concert, and green education. The following day, The Wiley One will team up with Surfrider San Diego for a beach cleanup and acoustic performance at Mission Beach. Come on out, help do some good and have a blast at it!

By the way, both of the above events are FREE! Yes I said FREE! There's no excuse to miss either of these great events!

If you like the track "Never Bored on a Board" playing in the video, you can download it for free (for a short time longer) by clicking here.

Twinterview with Adam Banton - Exclusive

Adam Banton, a BMX ripper, is in San Diego this week. He agreed to a Twinterview, check it out:

Q. Who do you ride for/who sponsors you?


A. @easternbikes @odysseybmx @Armourdillo @Fender @OsirisFootwear and C. T. I. Kneebraces 

Q. Why are you in San Diego? (sorry the weather isn't great at the moment)

A. June gloom in July huh? Lol. I'm here recording my 3rd full length album in Encinitas. Avail on iTunes in October.

Q. Do you prefer riding in parks or at spots?

A. I'm always down to ride anything as long as it's a fun setup or spot. Park,street,pool, ledge. What ever!

Q. Which trick gives you the most satisfaction to land?

A. Anything really. As long as I can visualize it in my head, it always feels good to pull it.

Q. How many frames have you broken in your life? - Feel free to add any last words, and thank you for playing!

A.  Hmm, probably broke only about 30 frames in my life? Not really sure. Not many though. Keep life simple& have fun riding your bike!

For more information about this great rider, click here.

Double Corks Rock, but Triple Corks are Smokin'!

You saw Shaun White, Kevin Pearce, Louie Vito, Danny Davis, and others doing double corks in the half pipe at the events leading up to the Olympics. I cannot tell you the amount of work, dedication, and brass ones it takes to throw a double cork in the first place, but all of the riders above threw them in their runs. An interesting little factoid, Kevin and Danny are members of the same crew, Frends. If you have been paying attention, you would think Louie is a Frend too, but he is not officially listed at the site. Louie definitely pals around with them at least. If you are not familiar with these tricks or the riders, Kevin Pearce and Danny Davis both suffered crippling injuries and did not make it to the Olympics to give Shaun the challenge of a lifetime. That said, Kevin was nominated for a Teen Choice Award, you should sign up and vote for him here.

The impressive display left many people wondering what was next, can you say triple cork?

Torstien Horgmo landed the first triple cork ever filmed, check this out:



I watched that footage 10 times and was just as stoked as I was the first time. Watch it again, it's free!

This morning, lighting up Twitter, is Sammy Carlson with a switch, triple corked, 1260! Sammy always uses his feet sticks to their fullest, but I am blown away by this, have a look:



I know that both of these tricks were done on some of the biggest jumps ever seen, but they are getting the rotations down, and soon enough we will see these tricks in slope style events, and then, if we are lucky, in the half pipe. Shred on and keep the progression going!

Tuesdays With Miles has Gary Young this week

 This week on Tuesdays with With Miles - A Day with Gary Young stars a local BMX ripper.  Gary Young, an X Games athlete, shows us some moves in this footage. Gary is one of the many professional extreme/action sport athletes that call San Diego home.


Go to Tuesdays With Miles for more videos.

Don't know much about Gary Young, watch this clip about his joining and being a member of the Vans Team.

Vans Then and Now - Gary Young - More BMX Videos

Street League and ESPN, a great team!

Street League, the new invitation only street skating competition tour teams up with ESPN to televise the events! I cannot think of a better television partner, especially considering the real-time scoring that will happen in Street League. 

On June 24, 2010, Street League put on a demo in San Diego, and I was there to witness Paul Rodriguez and Chris Cole put on a clinic of top notch skating! The pictures you are seeing are from that event!  To see more of my photos from this demo, click here.

Below is the official ESPN press release:

STREET LEAGUE SKATEBOARDING™ ANNOUNCES MULTI-YEAR BROADCAST PARTNERSHIP WITH ESPN

Street League DC Pro Tour fueled by Monster Energy Secures Domestic and International Distribution

Street League Skateboarding™ announced today that they will be entering a multi-year partnership with ESPN for worldwide distribution in more than 198 countries.  The 2010 Street League DC Pro Tour fueled by Monster Energy is a prestigious, invite-only, three-event series featuring the top 24 pros in the world.  Founded by twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek, Street League™ raises the bar of competitive professional skateboarding with the most prize money in skateboarding history, skate plaza course design in world-class arenas and an instant-scoring format that makes every trick count. 

“What Dyrdek has done for skateboarding with the creation of Street League is right in line with the quality sports programming that is the cornerstone of ESPN,” said Chris Stiepock, ESPN vice president, sponsorship and content, X Games Franchise.  “We are excited to broadcast competitive street skating with the world’s best pros in a package that is both compelling and new for our audience.”

Dyrdek said: “ESPN is an absolute perfect fit for Street League, and it is undeniable that they have helped lay the groundwork for televised skateboarding 16 years ago with the launch of X Games and have stayed with it ever since. With this deal, competitive street skateboarding will finally move from afternoon programming on the weekends to consecutive primetime slots so the audience finally has a chance to tune in and watch the same time every week.”

Street League™ will air the first stop of the tour beginning Wednesday, September 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and will continue its coverage of each stop every Wednesday at the same time slot through September 29^th.

Street League™ features the exclusive participation of 24 of the best street skateboarders in the world. To assist their transition into the league, each pro has been given the option to compete in two non-sanctioned wildcard events until the end of 2010.  Beginning in 2011, the pros will compete exclusively in the Street League™ series and other Street League™ sanctioned events worldwide.  Street League™ will work in conjunction with ESPN to allow Street League™ pros to participate in ESPN-owned events for the duration of the partnership.

Using real time scoring and an exciting proprietary competition 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 three-stop arena tour beginning at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona on August 28^th; Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California on September 11^th; and the final stop in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on September 25th.  The skaters will be competing at each event for a total purse of $1.2 million.   For more information please visit www.streetleague.com.

About ESPN

ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities.  Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN Plaza includes more than 700,000 square feet in more than a dozen buildings on 116 acres.  The company is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. 

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, the most prize money in skateboarding history with a $1.2 MM purse, 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 created and hosted by twenty-year professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek.  More information is available at www.streetleague.com.

Pay attention for details, and get tickets to what surely will be one of the can't miss events of the summer!

"Never Bored on a Board" by The Wiley One, Download Now!

An @ Mkbain exclusive!

As Sam Wiley ollied over a massive flight of 10 stairs, he thought he’d like to get sponsored and enter the world of professional skateboarding.

As Sammy slammed into the ground at the base of those same stairs and severely sprained his ankle, he thought he’d like to write and perform music for a living instead.

Lucky for us, his ankle never fully healed.

The Wiley One, Sammy’s modern reggae-inspired rock band, features down-to-earth messages focused on promoting spiritual and artistic expression, saving the environment, and finding joy in every day’s struggles, set to a rhythm of catchy, up-beat guitar riffs. With his skateboarding background, The Wiley One’s music is an ideal companion to any board rider’s session, whether skate, snow or surf.

“When you forget the past, the future, and live in the now, you will feel true bliss and freedom. Music and boarding does that for us,” Sammy believes.

Pro surfer Holly Beck agrees—she uses The Wiley One’s “Go Green” as the sole track in her sustainable living and surfing video, “Life After Competitive Surfing is a bit greener.” The Wiley One’s passion for the environment and working with nature melds perfectly into the world of surf, sand and sun.

“Surfing is my last boarding conquest,” Sammy admits. “I consider myself to be a spiritual person and surfing is spiritual in nature. I love the ocean and everything about surfing.”

The Wiley One has also caught the attention of the X Games, and for the past three years they have performed songs such as their hit “Go Green” to the games’ immense crowds of extreme sports enthusiasts. This summer, The Wiley One plans to kick off their summer tour surrounding the X Games with a string of bio-diesel solar powered shows along the Pacific Coast Highway from July 21-31. The band will be previewing their new single “Never Bored on A Board,” scheduled to launch later this year.

Fuel TV features The Wiley One’s “False Reality” on an episode of Firsthand featuring pro surfer Damien Hobgood, letting Sammy’s music illustrate the calming, playful vibes of surfing in Tahiti.

For Sammy, these vibes fit the description of The Wiley One perfectly—cunning, enticing and lighthearted. And for the boarding world, The Wiley One’s passion and impact through music fits its sports just as well.

A story by Jessica Conditt
Sundawg Media


The anticipation is over, download this track by clicking here!

Update: Congratulations to Chase O'Dell, who got the trivia questions right and won the SK8BOX deck with Paradox grip.

Gatorade Free Flow Tour lands in Encinitas!

Last Sunday, June 13th, The Gatorade Free Flow Tour made it's stop in Encinitas at the Ecke YMCA. GFFT tours our nation looking for the nest generation of skateboarders and BMXers. At this stop they had Vert and Street events. I was able to attend the vert contest and was stoked at the level of riding I witnessed.

The event was held on a giant vert ramp that was first used in the 2003 X Games and then donated to the Y.  Danny Mayer, Adam Taylor, Josh Strafford, and Paul-Luc Ronchetti were the judges and they are seriously qualified.  If you are not familiar with any of the names I just mentioned, do yourself a favor and look them up.

There were roughly 18 skaters under 21 broken into 2 heats.  Each and every skater shredded the immense ramp.  It was awesome to see kids less than 4 feet tall flying above the coping of a 13' deep ramp.  Some of the skaters were close to 6 feet above the deck.  540s, great lip tricks, flip tricks, and amplitude were all here as these riders threw down every thing they had for their chance at the finals.  Judging was difficult, I am sure, but five finalists were chosen. Tom Shaar, Joey Hamlisch, Jesse McDonald, Cory Juneao, and Jimmy Wilkins.

In the finals the riding only continued to impress.  Tom Shaar and Cory Juneao were the smaller skaters in the final, but that didn't stop them from flyin out of the ramp with style!  Jesse had airs, inverts, and boardslides that blew me away.  Joey had varials and kickflips mixed in with his airs and lip tricks.  Jimmy threw 3 different 540s in his run!  It was hard to imagine before going to this contest that the riding would be at this level.  Who said vert is dead?  These kids are proving that vert is alive, and I am excited for the future of vert riding knowing they are out there shreddin it up!  The final reults were 1)Jimmy Wilkins 2)Tom Shaar 3)Joey Hamlisch 4)Jesse McDonald 5)Cory Juneau.



For coverage of the street contest, which I unfortunately could not attend, click here

Espn's Next X is coming back!

Season two of the reality sports series, “Next X”, featuring star athletes Bucky Lasek, Rune Glifberg, Daniel Dhers and Gary Young, mentoring young amateur competitors in their chosen sport, will premiere Monday, June 21, (7:15 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Developed by Disney XD in association with ESPN, it marks the second iteration of "Next X".

Who: The series features professional skateboarders Bucky Lasek and Rune Glifberg and professional BMX riders Daniel Dhers and Gary Young, as they pair up with four talented amateurs to help sharpen their technical skills, perform new tricks and try to become the next generation's action sports superstars.

The young athletes include Jamie Cooper-Ellis, a 12-year-old BMX rider from Putney, Vt.; Heimana Reynolds, an 11-year-old skateboarder from Honolulu, Hawaii; Alana Smith, a nine-year-old skateboarder from Mesa, Ariz.; and Tucker Smith, an 11-year-old BMX rider from Laguna Hills, Calif.

What: An action-packed reality sports series featuring athletes mentoring young amateur competitors in their chosen sport. Sponsored by Hasbro, the six-episode, short-form series will premier on Disney XD and Disney XD.com, with new episodes airing every Monday night until July 26. "Next X," developed by Disney XD in association with ESPN, reached 24.7 million viewers, including 4.3 million boys 6-11 last summer on Disney XD.

“Next X" will culminate with one amateur athlete named the Next X, who will then have the opportunity to showcase his or her action sports skills on the course at X Games 16. A 30-minute "Next X" special will be shot at X Games 16, which will feature the amateur athlete's VIP experience and will air in August on Disney XD.

When: Monday, June 21 (7:15 p.m. ET/PT) .

Where: Disney XD and Disney XD.com

Bob Burnquist, Combi Sessions

Bob Burnquist is a seriously great skater, you know this!  Here is a montage of him skating the week leading up to the Pro Tec Pool Party.  His IPad even shows up at the beginning.  Who knows how many of these tricks Bob would have put down in the final if he didn't slam sooo hard in the pre-lims.  I hope he is feeling better and getting ready for the Dew Tour and X Games. 

Gatorade Free Flow Tour in Perris!

On June 12, 2010, Perris, CA was treated with the Gatorade Free Flow Tour. If you are not familiar with the tour, the GFFT is the "minor leagues" of the Dew Tour. GFFT holds many events across the country looking for the best amateur BMX riders and skateboarders. I was blown away by the level of riding at this event. The Junior division that consists of riders 12 years old and younger was great to watch. These kids were throwing 360s, tweaked out airs, tail whips, tucked no handers, and one kid even threw his first back flip (3rd try) ever! Official results were Parker Heath 3rd, River Bias 2nd, and Pierce Howell 1rst.  Pierce (1rst) and Parker (3rd) consider the Krause Family YMCA in Clairemont their home park, and I do as well.

In the open division, the park riding was on par with the pros!  The riders are raising the bar of what is considered amateur to a level that is unbelievable.  I saw double tail whips, superman whips, 360 whips, front flips, flairs, flair whips, and even 720s!  Daniel Sandoval, Kevin Peraza, and Chris Rivers, listed first to third, are names to remember, they will be pros soon!  I felt lucky to be watching these guys.


The dirt contest, in it's first year with the GFFT, was the star of the show.  The blasting airs, creative use of the dirt park, amazing level of riding, and the fast paced action was outstanding!  I was seriously impressed these guys were putting down corked 360s, double tail whips, tail whip 360s, back and front flips, and again 720s, one into a banking left hander! Larry Edgar was seriously blasting into the atmosphere, going bigger than anyone else. In the slide titled extension, he has that amount of style at the apex of a 360 tail whip in the middle of a run! Daniel Sandoval's superman whips and 720s were amazingly polished, and since he won the park contest , I have to give the MVP award to him!  Kevin Peraza borrowed a 26" bike (usually riding a 20" bike) from a Demon Dirt rider and killed it.  Ending one of his first 26" dirt runs ever, he landed the super man in the slide show, and the crowd went wild! Official results were Kevin Peraza 3rd, Daniel Sandoval 2nd, and Larry Edgar with the win.

After driving 160 miles in a 12 hour day to cover this event I was still hyped up.  I had to view the hundreds of pictures I took right away.  I will share them all soon, but for now you will have to live with the slide show.  If you were in the event, chances are I have shots of you, send an email to mkbainsports@gmail.com and I will share previews.  Thank you Gatorade, Allisports, and The Compound for providing such an excellent amateur contest to encourage the next generation of riders!

Mondays with Mike V #9

This week's Mondays with Mike V is the best in the series so far. He takes you through a great day. Watch, and don't feel too sorry for Larry, after all he works for one of the best skaters in the biz!

Gatorade Free Flow Tour hits So Cal!

The Gatorade Free Flow Tour is coming to Southern California this weekend. Come out and support the up and coming action sports athletes!

Saturday will be BMX park and dirt contest at Da Compound in Perris, CA. Check out www.dacompound.com for location details. Here is the schedule of events:

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Registration
9:00 AM – 11:30 AM Practice
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM Junior Jam
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM Open Park
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Open Dirt
5:30 PM Awards
Sunday will be park and vert skateboarding at the Madalena Ecke YMCA in Encinitas, CA.Go to
http://ecke.ymca.org for location details. Here is the schedule for Encinitas:

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Registration
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Practice
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Open Skate Vert
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Junior Jam
2:00 PM – 4:30 PM Open Skate Park 1st and 2nd Round
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM Open Skate Finals
5:00 PM Awards


 Pierr-Luc Gagnon, Danny Mayer, and Adam Taylor are scheduled to judge the vert comp!

For more information about the GFFT have a look at http://www.allisports.com/gatorade-free-flow-tour

Checkin' in with Burnquist

Bob Burnquist is one of the best skaters in the world. He has a tremendous backyard playground that can only be called a skater's paradise! In this video we find out what Bob has been up to lately and see some amazing mega ramp skating. Bob throws some amazing tricks that are incredibly difficult on regular ramps, let alone the mega. If you don't realize it, most of these tricks you are seeing are firsts for mega ramps. The mega ramp is far bigger than it looks in this video, if you have a chance to go to X Games at the end of July, make sure you get tickets to the mega ramp events. You will not believe how crazy these riders are. The top of the mega ramp is 90 feet above the ground, they are jumping a 75 foot gap, and then hitting a 24 foot high quarter pipe at the end. At the highest point, while airing above the quarter pipe, some riders are more than 50 feet high. This is a must see for anyone that even mildly likes skateboarding or BMX!

Walker Ryan and Kelly Hart shred PB!

Local San Diego skaters, Walker Ryan and Kelly Hart, with a few friends shred their local neighborhood in Pacific Beach. Watch as they trick over everything they find along the way! If you live here like I do, you will recognize many places they blast past or over. San Diego is a great place to skate, and this shows you how to just go out your front door and kill it!

William Spencer is a human highlight reel!

Here is some more footage from a very original skater, William Spenser!



He uses a skateboard in a totally different way than anyone else. What do you call a handstand to 10 foot drop landing on a skateboard? What do you call riding up a bank, jumping off your board, back flipping off the obstacle, and landing back on your board? I have no idea, but I know it kicks ass!

LA Skate Film Fest Behind the Scenes

Take a look into the skate film world and see some F-in amazing skating and explosions while you're at it. Get a snack, it's longer than a minute, but well worth it!

Pro-tec Pool Party Rocked!

If you didn't watch the live webcast on Fuel.tv of the Pro-tec Pool party at the Vans Combi pool yesterday, you missed some serious pool skating!  The Vans Combi pool was re-surfaced at a cost of $50,000.00 to make it smoother, faster and better.  The skaters have been talking about how much better the Combi is all month long leading up to the competition, and it showed in their skating.  The faster surface lead to higher airs, smoother coping lead to longer slides and grinds, and a few of the reshaped areas lead to never-before-seen lines. Take a look at the Masters Final:
 


The results of the Master Division were Steve Caballero in first, Chris Miller in second, and Lance Mountain in third. These skaters have skated all 3 versions of the Combi pool, and the results could have been from the eighties. It is hard to believe they are still skating at this level!

Now for the current pros, have a look at their final:



The results of this round were Bucky Lasek in first, Rune Glifberg in second, and Omar Hassan in third. Bucky has now won two Pool Parties in a row, and some think it is due to him having a concrete bowl in his backyard. Rune and Omar are both known for their pool skating, and showed the crowd why. Honorable mentions go to Nolan Munroe and Alex Perelson who impressed me more than the official results suggest. To watch all the awesome video from the Pro-tec Pool party, click here.

William Spencer - Parkate? Skatour?

William Spencer is one of those guys that defies labels.  He is a skater, he is a parkour athlete, he is what he wants to be!  I have no idea how this man eluded me for years, but I am here to tell you he does things that no skateboarder or free runner would or could do.  In this video he shows his amazing skills.  I can't wait to see what he is doing today.  I will never miss anything William puts on the web again, and neither should you!


Did you see that?  Watch that shite again.  That actually happened! This is one of the few videos I have seen that have actually hurt my brain this year.   I have to say this guy, like Shane O'Niell, Plan B, and many others are taking skateboarding to the next level.

Turfs Up! Complete

TURF's Up (FULL VIDEO) from TURFglobal on Vimeo.

This is the full length flick featuring the Turf Global team.  The entire thing is f-in great.  You get everything you want from a skate movie, great tricks, serious skate spots, and lots of fun.  The Turf team knows how keep things light but bring the big tricks!  Everyone is in here, Jason Wussler, Mike York, Larry Redman, Vince Salvi, Sammy Baptista, Jabari Pendleton, Jason Wakuzawa, Some Dude, and James Kelch.  BTW, how awesome is Some Dude, that guy gets gnarls! Watch this video, support the Turf team, get a Turf deck, and try and shred like some of the best in the biz!

Riley Hawk - Skate Movie Part 2

Riley Hawk (Tony's son) is shredding on his own.  This video is part of the much anticipated Skate Movie.  As you can see, Riley kicks some serious ass on a skateboard as well.  Watch for the smith grind to double kickflip out, I was blown away the first time.  Keep tearing the place to pieces Riley!

Turf Global Destroys PQ Skatepark for Willy's Workshop!

The Turf Global team, featuring Mike York, Lavar McBride, Jason Wussler, JJ Rice, Vitor Borger, an injured Sam Batista, and Biggs, invaded the Rancho Penasquitos skatepark in celebration of their line now being available at Willy's Workshop, a skate shop owned by a local skating hero, Willy Santos.

The demo was f-in awesome, the pros just got out there and mixed it up with the locals at the park. It was obvious from the beginning these Turf riders were there to shred and have a blast doing it.  So often it seems riders take their skating too seriously, it was refreshing to see these riders enjoy the park.

I was lucky enough to meet Mike, Lavar, Jason, JJ, Vitor, and Willy.  They were cooler than you would expect, I mean after all they were meeting me, not someone they needed to schmooze. If you haven't been to Willy's Workshop you should go.  They have a great skate shop and it is next door to the PQ Skatepark!
In this video you have Lavar McBride with a switch frontside flip, JJ Rice with a backside bigspin, and Vitor Borger with a sweet varial flip!

The demo was a blast! Everyone kicked ass and the crowd loved the show. I highly recommend viewing Turf Global's video just under these words, it rocks! They have had over 1500 views in less than 24 hours and it is being re-tweeted all over the twitterverse.


TURF x WILLY'S WORKSHOP DEMO 5/8/2010 from TURFglobal on Vimeo.

Here is Willy Workshop's video of the demo.  Contrast and compare.

As you can see in the photo on the left, Mike York was having a great day.  This attitude, or lack of, was the best part of the demo for me.  It always surprises me that professional skaters are so easy to talk to.  I always expect to be blown off, but these guys shook my hand, said hi, thanked me for coming, and re-tweeted my pictures of the day.  It doesn't get much better than that! Click here to see all my pics of the demo!