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