Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Cam Sinclair double back flip!

Cam Sinclair, and FMX rider for Metal Mulisha, has landed the trick that almost killed him.

His comeback story is inspirational.  Read this post on the Metal Mulisha blog about it. I can't wait to see him do this at X-Games.  I am ready for the next level of FMX and Cam is bringin' it.  Thanks for never giving up, getting back on the bike, and throwing a massive death defying trick for our entertainment!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

San Diego skaters and bikers

I am blogging for the Expression Session at Allisports.com and I want to talk to you!  Are you a skater? biker? shop owner? Know a secret spot?  Have a "sponsor me" video? A pro working on the next big thing? I am looking for what makes San Diego the best city for Action Sports. You can reach me at mkbainsports@gmail.com, twitter.com/mkbain, or here.  So leave me a comment, send me your videos, or tweet me!

Tony Hawk, Andymacdonald, Simon Tabron videos!

First off we have Tony Hawk and Andy Macdonald in the first two videos riding doubles vert at Clash at Claremont 4.  These two are the best in the world and this sudo sport within a sport.  Shredordie.com rocks if you did not know.


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Second one is Tony and Andy again.


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Then we have Simon Tabron throwing a 900.  I was shocked he would pull out such a big trick for a demo, but he did!  That's 2 and half rotations on a bike if you can't count.

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Monday, April 26, 2010

Adams Ave Roots & Healing Arts Fest


I know I usually blog about Action Sports, but I live in Normal Heights, and I love our neighborhood.  If you did not attend the Adams Ave Roots & Healing Arts Festival you missed a great event.  It all happened on April 24th and 25th on Adams Avenue and the Adams Park Lawn.  This festival featured all the stuff you expect at a street fair and more.  There were a multitude of stages and small performance areas spread out through the 8 blocks of the event.  The music varied from classic one man blues to reggae.  I really enjoyed the spacing of the stages and performance areas this year.  As soon as one group's performance was ending, another group's was beginning.  If you were just walking by, the sound from one stage, or area, wasn't overstepping the next. The attendees had the benefit to listen to the performances they wanted to and not be distracted by another area's sound.

Of course there was plenty of fair food to fill your gut with.  I really loved the pockets and collared greens we had from the Flavors of East Africa booth.  The ice cream at Mariposa's was top notch as always.  If you haven't been to this local ice cream shop, stop reading and go now.  Their ice cream is actually hand made and you can taste it!
The weather was perfect, the storms earlier in the week blew out all the smog.  Everyone seemed to be having a great time.  Many people were even carrying parasols to shade from the suns rays. As you walked the booths the atmosphere of the festival was fun!  People having a great day with their families, couples enjoying the sights and sounds, and lots and lots of dogs just waiting to be petted.  The booths had some of the usual big companies offering discounts on solar electricity, fake grass, and new vinyl windows, but the majority of the booths were independent craftsmen and artists.  We like independent artists and craftsmen/women in Normal Heights.

This piece on the left is great example of a local artist's work.  His name is Steve and he can be reached at klocks@cox.net for purchase of these beautiful pieces.  There were many different artistic styles represented at the Roots and Healing Arts Festival.  We saw hand carved wood works like those featured on the right, incense shops, clothing and purses, belts and wallets, jewelery, body jewelery, sun glasses, face painting, sign making, and a plethora of other interesting items at the fair this year.  


This year was also special due to including The Healing Arts Festival at the Park Lawn.  The Healing Arts Festival, in it's 6th year, is a festival of alternative healing, healthy living, nutrition, and great music.  This year's festival was great!  The new venue (Park Lawn and Mansfield St) worked well.  Using Mansfield St. for most of the vendors made it easy to find what you were looking for and smell all the great food being prepared.  The music arena was a grassy area where friends and families could easily lounge and enjoy the music, dancing, and drumming. 
If you were not aware of the Healing Arts Festival or the Alternative Healing Network please visit their site, get a great massage (or other treatment) at their clinic, Adams Avenue Integrated Health, located at 3239 Adams Avenue, or get involved by volunteering or donating to a cause that is actually helping to make the planet a little better to be on.

I had an awesome time wandering the best neighborhood in San Diego, my neighborhood!

To view all of my photos from this event click here!

Mat Hoffman, The Birth of Big Air

The Birth of Big Air, a documentary about Mat Hoffman, premiered this weekend in NYC. It was received well and I encourage you buy this movie as soon as you can. Matt was a pioneer of the vert ramp, going huge, and pushing the limits of what is/was possible on a BMX bike. This video shows us some of the happenings at the premiere including Kevin Robinson doing 6 flairs in a row in tribute to the first person to ever land a flair, Mat Hoffman.

Mat was the inventor of so many tricks I will not even begin to try and list them all, but I want to mention the no handed 900.

At the X Games in 2002, everyone was wondering why the Condor came back. We all thought he retired as was not the same. Then he drops in and does a trick that had never and still to this day has never been done again in a competition. It has been 8 years since this happened, but Matt was so far ahead of everyone else this trick stands alone. If you don't remember this happening, watch the video a few times and pay attention to the other riders they show for a few seconds, even they are in disbelief at what they just saw. Mat Hoffman, AKA the Condor, a legend in his own time, and hero to me.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Allisports

I am now a contributing blogger for Allisports in the Expression Session part of their website. My first post, "5 best vert tricks ever, IMHO" was just published. In this post I discuss my favorite giant vert skateboarding tricks. Keep you eyes open for more posts from me soon!

BMX Flatland with Terry Adams

If you don't know, BMX flatland is a sport that doesn't use ramps, rails or any obstacles. It is purely the rider and their bike on the ground. Some people describe this sport as artistic riding, but I feel it is more like bike juggling or bike break dancing. The amount of skill and practice necessary to achieve the control and balance it takes to perform these maneuvers is obvious upon first view. Take a look at Terry Adams using a dance floor like no one else can.

Terry Adams riding at Smartbar! from Buck on Vimeo.

This video is shining example of what this sport is about. The rider and bike connected in ways you would not imagine. Terry Adams is one hell of a BMX rider, but most people have never even heard of him. This sport doesn't get the hype of dirt, vert or park, but you can tell the skill level is on the same level. Search out BMX flatland and be blown away by these amazing riders!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Robbie Maddison says it wasn't so easy!

Robbie Maddison sits down with FreeriderMx.com to discuss his recent jump over the Corinth Canal in Greece.  Even though Robbie has jumped farther, this jump had major difficulties in the run up to the ramp. We all know Maddo has brass boys, but after reading this article I have no doubt he is the only person riding today that would make this jump.  The video is on Robb's site and it is impressive.  In the interview Maddo talks about a new foam pit and new tricks in the future, I can't wait to see the next level of this man's riding! Thanks to Robbie Maddison and his sponsor Red Bull for continuing to find new ways to change what is possible on a motorcycle.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Tony Hawk at Long Beach Grand Prix

Tony Hawk interviews a few of his fellow drivers during warm ups for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, a celebrity race for charity.  Kick some celebrity butt Tony!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Dave Mirra getting ready for his comeback!

Rally America interviews Dave Mirra about his bout with a major illness, his recovery, and his return to rally racing.  Dave caught bacterial meningitis (ouch), but is back to feeling better and working out.  I hope his return to rally racing is successful. Dave has always been one of my favorite athletes and it is good to see him come back so quickly!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Alli Sports' #TYFO

If you missed Alli Sports' Tweet Your Face Off from last week, here is the transcript. They were interviewing the Frends crew, a group of snow boarders, including @Kevin_Pearce,@ScottyLago, @LoiueVito,@MASEintheplace (Mason Aquirre),@JackMitrani, Luke Mitrani, Danny Davis, and Mikkel Bang.  Alli Sports asked them one of the questions I submitted, although I hope their answer was a joke. At the end of the transcript there is a nice tribute to Kevin Pearce who seriously injured himself prior to the Winter Olympics.

Are FMX contests dead?

In this ESPN article by Matt Higgins, he contends that FMX is transitioning from a contest-based system to demonstrations and choreographed shows.  Personally, I hope this is a myth and not an actual change in the FMX sport.  Even though shows and demonstrations are great for the fans and riders, I prefer the competitive, progressive atmosphere of the actual contests.  I understand that the shows offer the FMX rider an opportunity to show the fans most of what they do in a controlled and safe environment.  I am sure there are fans that prefer the bombardment of bikes streaming through a stadium or arena in a way that cannot be done in a contest, for safety if nothing else.  It is impressive to see 8-10 motorcycles perform the same trick in a row while seemingly being too close to each other, however to me it is much more impressive to see someone pull off a trick that has never been done before, especially if that rider has never landed the trick to dirt.  There are serious consequences to jumping 50 ft in the air over a 100 foot gap with a 250 pound motorcycle performing a maneuver that is on the edge of a rider's ability, but that is one of the biggest draws to this sport for me. FMX seems to have the biggest risk in action sports.  This sport has lost riders, such as the tragic loss of Jeremy Lusk, doing exactly that, pushing the limits of what can be done on a motorcycle.  Those limits being pushed, riders performing what seemed impossible yesterday, and riding away smoothly is what FMX was built on.  It is hard to imagine tricks bigger than double back flips or the back flip 360 , off axis double back flip thing Travis Pastrana attempted at the last X Games, but it will happen if the riders and the system supports progression.  I hope this is not the beginning of the end for FMX contests, but rather more of an integration of demonstrations and choreographed shows into an overall larger industry.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Thank you Spy Optic!

These awesome shades just got to me!  I won these by submitting a question for Spy Optic's interview of Louie Vito through Twitter.  It was seriously that easy.  What question did I ask? "Louie, when you were learning double corks, did you ever seriously injure yourself?"  I can only guess what his answer was because as far as I can tell the interview has not been published yet.  @Spy_Optic contacted me a few days ago to let me know I won, and yesterday I got these Lennox model glasses!  The moral of this story is to pay attention to Twitter and you could win too!

Friday, April 9, 2010

AndyCam at new pool

This video is Andy Macdonald's perspective while riding the brand new Vans combi pool.  This legendary pool was just resurfaced with smooth concrete and new coping stones were installed.  Sounds like everyone grooves on the new pool, and they got it ready just in time for the Pro-Tec Pool Party May 16th.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Mentioned

Were you mentioned in a story about #THTH?  I was, read this!

Skatepark Roundup

View this video right now!  Watch the hole thing because it ends with a banger!

Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt 2010

Take a look at this slide show of all the pictures from this year's hunt. You will recognize one from lower in my blog because I freakin won!
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Robbie Madison Flys

Australian stunt Motocrosser Robbie Maddison, 28, jumps over the 279-feet wide Corinth Canal at height of nearly 328-feet in Greece April 8, 2010!  Take a good look at these picutres, that is a giant jump. I can't wait until I get to see the video!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Louis Browne: Amateur for how long?

This kid's "sponsor me" video is great, have a look! I'm sure everyone will know his name someday.

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Little Hawk

Check out Tony Hawk's son's "free lunch" from Shredordie.com

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Renner Rides

Want to ride with Ronnie Renner and some of his friends?  You can! All you have to do is get to Glamis between now and Sunday. It's the second stop of his Freeride Tour, where you can ride, party, and hang out with some of the biggest names in Moto X.  Check it out!

Owch

Think all this action sports stuff is just fun and no pain? Think again kid!

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tony Hawk still learning

Even Tony Hawk is still learning new tricks! Check out this video of him getting the Japan McTwist down.

How I won #THTH (Tony Hawk's Treasure Hunt)

Look at that pile of prizes!  So, like everyone I assume, I was completely obsessed with #THTH, watching each tweet for the next location, hoping one would be somewhere near me.  I watched Del Mar and Encinitas go by and knew I was too far away, but then it happened.  Tony posted the location of 67th and Salinas, which happens to be 4 blocks from one of my friends.  I called him and quickly told him to act before thinking, so he jumped in the car, hauled ass over there and grabbed the prize!  He bailed so fast that the prize hider didn't even have a chance to get his picture!  At the time we set a record for the fastest grab in #THTH history at only 9 minutes.  Unfortunately the record only stood for about 5 minutes, until other prize seekers cut the record down to 7 minutes.  Today someone got the prize in 5 minutes, which is amazing!  So here is the list of items we won:  Dean Guitar, Theeve truck bolts and skate key, Quicksilver hat and shirt, Birdhouse fingerboards and backpack, The YumTasty almonds, Anthony Napolitan signature Kicker Audio ear buds, and that sweet fake 'stache.  All totaled it was about $375.00 worth of free grab-baggage.  Making it sweeter, my friend didn't even want the guitar; he wanted the Kicker ear buds, back pack, and almonds.  What a steal for me! All I had to do was pay attention, make a few phone calls, and I got all the glory.  Thanks Tony, and thanks to all the other sponsors and manufacturers who made this event completely awesome!  The best part was when I won.

Clash at Clairemont 4

Clash at Clairemont, now in it's fourth year, was on March 27th, 2010.  This is one of the biggest skating demos ever put together.  The event benefits Grind for Life, which is an organization that helps people dealing with cancer treatments.  Each year more and more pros come out to the demo and more fans show up to support the event.  The event has raised close to $100,000.00 in the four years it has been going on.  Started by Andy Macdonald after he and Tony Hawk got the X-Games to donate the vert ramp from 2006 to the Krause Family Skate Park in Clairemont.  The skate park was already a great park, but this world class vert ramp sets it apart from most.  The event includes an amateur street best trick contest, a pro street demo, and a pro vert demo.  The pros on the vert demo, the big attraction, included Andy Macdonald, Tony Hawk, Buckey Lasek, Pier Luc Gagnon, Simon Tabron, Danny Mayer, Lyn-z Adams, Adam Taylor, Alex Perelson, Chris Gentry, and more.

The amateur street best trick contest was impressive.  Local kids showing they have some great tricks too.  These kids were throwing feeble grinds, treflips over the rail, and fast plant 360s.  Watch out pros, the new kids are catching up. The pro street demo was crazy, showing the crowd the edge of street skating and even a broken board or two.  The legends pool demo had a rare sight, triples, 3 skaters at once in the pool.  Andy Mac, Cab, and Lester gave us a great little show.

Some of the vert demo high lights included Tony Hawy and Andy Macdonald showing us their one a kind doubles run, Simon Tabron throwing a 900, and Lincoln Ueada winning the highest 540 contest soaring 10' above the deck.  Everyone on the ramp put on a great show for the crowd.  Take a look at over 100 photos from my day at the Clash. Don't miss this event next year, great skating and a great cause.