So its been a wile and what an event to come back with to start the CONTEST season off right!! The Phoenix AM has been around since 2006 and was the reason for my first magazine THE GRIND.  A lot has happened since then, so many new faces and so much local support, its hard to ever imagine this town without cowtown or the PHX AM.

With the newly renovated Encanto Skate Park,  ( or Dirty West as it is lovingly known ) Arizona has again placed its mark on the skateboarding world.  ”HANDS DOWN”  its the hottest park under the sun hosting the PHX AM, boosting HUGE improvements and even a new paint job.

Thank you Colby and the MASTER CRAFTSMEN at California Skateparks.

WHERE DO I START …. WOW it was HOT and the place was packed.  I could not believe the line as I walked up and it did not quit in tell after 10 a.m.! It was a FULL HOUSE,  and with so much excitement over the new improvements, the  event was a lock to be a HUGE success. 160 riders tore through the new set up with a distractive grace, unfazed by the increasing heat, to survive the Qualifying round and the narrowing of the field down to 48 riders.

DAY 2 Started off the Eliminator Round with 47 riders and 1 NO SHOW by the home town favorite Robbie Brockel, but nothing was lost, Dashawn Jordan at age 14 was ranked #1 as the day started.

THE FINAL ROUND consisted of 12 riders and was packed with nothing but WOW tricks like the Ben Hatchell 540 or Dashawn Jordan’s fakie air-walk and so many more.

1. Ben Hatchell   20,   Manassass, VA       Sponsors:   Zero, Independent, Bones Wheels, Bones Swiss, C1RCA, DaKine, Paradox Grip.
2. Jack Olson       16,   Minneapolis, MN   Sponsors:   Real, Thunder, Spitfire, Osiris (flow)
3. Colin Provost   20,  Huntington Beach, CA  Sponsors: Toy Machine, Spitfire, Emerica, Volcom, Active
4. Tyson Bowerbank   16, Sandy,  UT         Sponsors:   Darkstar, Osiris, Bones Wheels (flow), Monster Energy, BC Surf and Sport
5. Taylor McClung 21  Huntington Beach, CA  Sponsors: Expedition One, Gold Wheels, DC (flow), Venture, United Board Shop
6. Matt Berger        17   Kamloops, BC          Sponsors:   Matix, ES, Almost, Bones, Monster, Tensor, B&B Skateshop
7. Keshaud Johnson  ?age unknown? Dallas, TX  Sponsors: City Stars, Neff, Kicker, Krux, Power Blance
8. Trevor Colden    16   Virginia Beach, VA   Sponsors:   Mystery (flow), Altamont, Emerica, Theeve Trucks, Bones Wheels
9. Dashawn Jordan  14  Chandler, AZ   Sponsors: VOX footwear, KR3W
10. David Loy    19    Santa Ana, CA    Sponsors:   Birdhouse, CONS, ERGO, Thunder, Spitfire, RobBrink.com, Krochet Kids, Alchemy, Active, Glassy.
11. Oscar Maza   20   Los Angeles, CA   Sponsors:  Girl (flow) Autobahn (flow) Emerica (flow) Mainline, Kogi BBQ, Destrcto, Elm Co, Marquisa Co
12. Anthony Estrada  18   Ontario, CA    Sponsors: Plan B (flow), LRG, Silver Trucks, FKD, Globe, Roaring Lion Energy Drink, Covert Shop

Phoenix AM 2011

MORE PHOTOS COMING SOON!!!

To order, click the image or go to the AZPX Homepage.

I was a fun day Kevin was purple from hair to pads and was killing it in the deep end of the MMR bowl after arriving late to Micke heckling him about the time.

Micke was mixing it up with the kids doing double runs with combinations of airs and hand-plants with local riders Shane Short and Trey Wood.

Old school events were staged with the simplest of items such as duck-tape and traffic cones.  The  longest carve and the the longest one truck grind  made for exciting events.  One would think these to be simple but wow guess again.  The act of pumping in your carve to carve higher was revived from a long forgotten 80′s contest video and adopted by the youngest of riders needless to say the crowed went wild.

NEXT the Best Trick contest was held in the deep end of the bowl on a TV…. yes a TV… we are still in the 80′s folks … its nice here  … and the winner got to keep the gem!! Fast-plants , Air-to-Tail, even blunt-to-fakeys attacked the helpless TV that sat braced by Robert Gonzales SR.  ( Flanked by Pat McGinnis and I cameras in hand attempting not to get killed ) This was truly a FUN EVEN, nothing like the trash skating days of the 80′s!!!

Lastly the BIG AIR contest in the BOWL.  with a mic stand and some tape the Airs were blasting with Andrew Miller, Shane Short, Rad Pinckard and Trey Wood setting the bar so to speak …. well in this case they were setting the tape!!

The best part of the event was everyone having fun and getting to hang out with skateboardings legends as well as the future of skateboarding.

You might have noticed I failed to list any of the winners …. there were winners but the KIDS having fun is more important and sometimes i think  people forget that and what skateboarding was all about when Kevin and Micke were kids …. or even when i was a kid in the 80′s in arizona with no parks at all.  We skated wood and empty lots, empty buildings and pools and we all had fun doing so … when we were not running from the cops.  I guess my point is Skateboarding is about Fun FIRST just a reminder.

7 and Under

Tyson Zane
Zacharyah Dominguez
Rex Plant
Scott A. Simmons

8-11 Division

CamBryan Sedick
Jagger Eaton
Drake Hendrix
Augustin Lerma
Mathew Evans
Alana Smith

12-15 Division

hayden burns
Keddrick Tanner
Joey Cattabiani
tyler fahey
jeff sun
Aaron Goure
Dylan Thomas
Dominic Tanner
Jason Gaelo
arik griggs

16 and Up

James Schwartz

Adam Royal

Jonathan Ashburn

Patrick Wardein

Sponsored

Adrian Hernandez
Dashawn Jordan
Jason Thurtle
Daniel Barrera
Shawn Patrick
Taylory Awayan
Damon Tyrell
Rayce Davis

Girls Division

Brenna Pawley
Lauren Bailey
Shauntee

BestTrick:

Danny Barrera

Presented By – Pulse Boardshop, DC Shoes, Skull Candy and LRG

Girls

1st Breanna Pawley

2nd Kora Grzyb

3rd Chauntae Shwoegler

10 and Under

1st Alex Vasquez

2nd Anthony VanDamme

3rd Ry Storms

11 – 15

1st Joey Ciabbatini

2nd Chase Herman

3rd Aaron Goure

16 and Up

1st Adam Royal

2nd James Schwarts

3rd Nick Gillis

Advanced/Sponsored

1st Donovan Nearing

2nd Shawn Patrick

3rd Isiah Johnson

Best Trick – Danny Bererra – FS Blunt and BS Flip Down the double set

LAS VEGAS, NV – For the third consecutive event, the winner of Rob Dyrdek’s Street League DC Pro Tour Fueled by Monster Energy was determined as the final buzzer sounded. In a dramatic and fitting end to Street League’s inaugural season, rookie professional Shane O’Neill (Melbourne, AUS) edged out Chris Cole (Philadelphia, PA) on the last trick to capture the $150,000 first place prize as the crowd in Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center cheered in appreciation. Nyjah Huston, winner of the first stop in Phoenix, won the overall tour title. Detailed results and information are available at www.streetleague.com.

Fans of Street League can catch all the complete coverage from the tour finale this Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on ESPN2. The compelling 90 minute show, hosted by Street League founder Rob Dyrdek and Steve Berra, features every moment of the tour’s finals featuring the world’s best skateboarders battling it out for the most prize money in history with a real-time instant scoring format that makes every trick count.

The ISX instant scoring system was in overdrive on Saturday as Chaz Ortiz, Cole, and O’Neill all jockeyed for the lead. It all came down to the final two tricks on the fourth and final section—Cole and O’Neill were virtually neck and neck following the sixth and next-to-last trick. Cole landed an 8.0 to O’Neill’s 7.7 and moved into a 2.4 point lead (143.8 to 141.4).

In the seventh and final attempt Cole went for a huge “kick flip” over the rail in the big section, but he landed at the wrong angle and fell to the ground; the crowd rose to their feet in an uproar. Needing only to complete a nominal trick, O’Neill successfully “backside lip-slided” his way to victory and $150,000 while Cole pocketed $80,000. During the awards ceremony Street League founder Rob Dyrdek asked Chris Cole if he had any regrets, he replied, “the kick flip.” With a second place win in Glendale, AZ and a league record of five best-trick bonuses ($5000 each), Shane O’Neill’s Street League winnings-to-date stand at an outstanding $255,000 – making him the highest grossing pro in the historical series.

Final Event Results:

1. Shane O’Neill – 146.0

2. Chris Cole – 143.8

3. Nyjah Huston – 123.2

4. Chaz Ortiz – 115.6

5. Ryan Sheckler – 114.5

6. Paul Rodriguez – 106.7

7. Greg Lutzka – 81.3

8. Torey Pudwill – 94.4

9. Sean Malto – 93.0

10. Mikey Taylor – 91.7

11. David Gonzalez – 89.7

12. Eric Koston – 84.7

13. Billy Marks – 59.3

14. Mark Appleyard – 49.7

15. Nick Dompierre – 49.4

16. Marc Johnson – 38.1

17. Brandon Biebel – 36.1

18. Dylan Rieder – 34.4

19. Tommy Sandoval – 29.1

20. PJ Ladd – 16.4

21. Terry Kennedy – 12.9

22. Mike Mo Capaldi – 0

22. Peter Romondetta – 0

22. Luan Oliveira – 0

NYJAH HUSTON OVERCOMES STRONG CHARGE FROM SHANE O’NEILL TO CAPTURE FIRST STOP OF STREET LEAGUE DC PRO TOUR FUELED BY MONSTER ENERGY AND PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDING’S LARGEST-EVER FIRST PLACE PRIZE: $150,000

PHOENIX, Arizona – In front of 6500 screaming fans at Phoenix’s Jobing.com Arena, Nyjah Huston (age 15, Davis and Huntington Beach, Calif.) captured the first stop of Rob Dyrdek’s all-new $1.2 million Street League DC Pro Tour fueled by Monster Energy. Strategy, big tricks and consistency were the key to Huston’s victory as he edged out five other contenders that all had a shot to win in their final attempt. Ultimately, Huston fought off Shane O’Neill (age 20, Australia) to win the $150,000 first place prize and assume the overall tour lead. O’Neill and Huston were the final two professionals to sign exclusively to Street League’s roster of 24.

Street League’s introduction of the instant scoring experience proved itself on Saturday as spectators were on the edge of their seats from the first trick to the very last. Fans cheered every step of the way as each skater one-upped each other on the leader board. The event reached a climax in the fourth and final “big” section. With only one attempt remaining, five of the seven skaters still had an opportunity to win the record first place prize.

Down by 8.2 points on the last trick of the entire event, Shane O’Neill “switch 360 kick-flipped” the double-set of stairs and jumped from fifth place all the way into second with a 7.0 score, missing the win by only 1.10 points. It was Nyjah’s “gap out to kick flip frontside board slide” that solidified the $150,000 win. Shane O’Neill took home $97,000 with two best trick bonuses and the Zumiez 24/7 $7000 cash prize.

Prior to his Street League victory, the talented Huston had largely occupied the second place spot on the winner’s podium, but moved into the forefront of the skateboarding world on Saturday night. “It felt so good to finally win,” said the fifteen-year-old prodigy. “The format was great. It really brought out the best skateboarding.”

Dyrdek, who has spent the past six years of his life working to bring Street League to fruition, kicked off the event by turning off the lights in the arena and introducing the seven finalists to the roaring crowd as the course illuminated. “Saturday was simply a dream come true for me. It would not have been possible without the support from our best pros and the undeniable entertainment that an instant scoring format brings to skateboarding contests,” says the Street League creator. “Beyond anything it was the best skateboarding I have ever witnessed in my life.”

Street League Skateboarding features the world’s top professional street skateboarders vying for the most prize money in history: First Event on August 28 at Jobing.com Arena in Arizona.

Rob Dyrdek’s vision for a professional sports league for street skateboarders is close to reality. Following six years of developing a structured competition format infused with “traditional” sports elements and then pairing it with world-class venues and a revolutionary real-time scoring system suitable for athletes and viewers, the $1.2 million DC Pro Tour fueled by Monster Energy debuts on August 28 at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. More information is available at www.streetleague.com.

Street League Skateboarding’s™ prestigious three-event series features the exclusive participation of the world’s top 24 street skateboarders ranging from familiar contest stars like Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez Jr. and Chris Cole to core street skateboarders that have traditionally shied away from competition like P.J. Ladd, Mike Mo Capaldi, Brandon Biebel, and Dylan Reider. The combined roster of athletes is unprecedented in the world of skateboarding and represents the winners of the past four years of the Dew Tour, X Games and Maloof Money Cup.

“To see my dream come to fruition with the launch of Street League Skateboarding on August 28th is beyond words,” said Dyrdek. “To me, Street League is more than just a new contest series; it will redefine the way skateboarding competitions are done forever.”

Street League Skateboarding is the first contest series to construct real concrete skate plazas inside world-class arenas. These plazas, designed by Dyrdek and California Skateparks (the worldwide leader in skatepark design and construction), signify a departure from traditional skate parks since they resemble true street obstacles that would likely be found in any city plaza environment. Although each of the three tour stops will feature four distinct sections, no course will ever be the same – making the look of Street League another dynamic feature of the series.

Street League also introduces an instant scoring format that brings a competitive strategy to skateboarding for the first time. Each skateboarder will get 7 attempts on four sections (technical, creative, line and big); all designed to test a different skill set within street skating. Each attempt gets an instant score on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0, averaged from five judges. Each landed trick contributes to a cumulative point total (tricks that are not landed are given a zero).

“There’s going to be a time when Ryan Sheckler knows what level of skating he has to do in order to jump to first, but will have to calculate the risk of not landing his trick which could put him behind everyone,” Dyrdek said. “The skaters will have to strategize for the first time.” Beyond the instant ranking changes during every moment of the event, this format brings real time statistics including consistency percentages, average landed trick scores, and on the spot best-trick calculation.

Street League’s $1.2 million purse is the largest in skateboarding history and almost double the combined winnings for all other skate contests. Nearly $400,000 will be awarded at each of the three stops beginning with Glendale, Ariz. on Aug. 28 and followed by Ontario, Calif. (Citizens Business Bank Arena) on September 11 and the finale in Las Vegas, Nev. (Thomas & Mack Center) on Sept. 25. The competitions will air on ESPN2 every Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. PT, Sept. 15 to 29.

Complete Street League Athlete Roster
Billy Marks – 27 – Corona, CA
Brandon Biebel – 29 – Sacramento, CA
Chaz Ortiz – 16 – Chicago, IL
Chris Cole – 28 – Philadelphia
David Gonzales – 20 – Medellin, Colombia
Dylan Reider – 22 – Westminster, CA
Eric Koston – 35 – Hollywood
Geoff Rowley – 34 – Long Beach, CA
Greg Lutzka – 25 – Milwaukee, WI
Luan Oliveira – 19 – Porto Alegre, Brazil
Marc Johnson – 33 – Winston-Salem, NC
Mark Appleyard – 27 – Hollywood, CA
Mike Mo Capaldi – 20 – Simi Valley, CA
Mike Taylor – 27 – Newbury Park, CA
Nick Dompierre – 24 – New Bedford, MA
Paul Rodriguez – 25 – Tarzana, CA
Peter Romondetta – 28 – San Francisco, CA
PJ Ladd – 28 – Rockland, MA
Ryan Sheckler – 21 – San Clemente, CA
Sean Malto – 20 – Kansas City, MO
Terry Kennedy – 25 – Long Beach, CA
Tommy Sandoval – 23 – Chula Vista, CA
Torey Pudwill – 20 – Simi Valley, CA
Shane O’Neill – 20 – Melbourne, Australia

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.

About DC
Founded by Ken Block and Damon Way in 1993, DC quickly grew to a leader in performance skateboarding shoes and renowned action sports brand. Today DC stands as a global brand whose product line has expanded to include men’s, women’s and kids’ skateboarding and lifestyle shoes, apparel, snowboards, snowboard boots, outerwear, and accessories. As one of the cornerstones of its marketing strategy, DC has built a world-class team of professional skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, motocross and rally athletes that exemplify and enhance DC’s brand, develop its signature products, and support its promotional efforts. DC is a subsidiary of Quiksilver, Inc.

About Monster Energy
Refusing to acknowledge the old, the worn and the traditional, Monster supports the scene. Be it skateboarding, BMX, surfing, motocross, wakeboarding, snowboarding or rock and roll, Monster is a brand that believes in authenticity, sincerity and getting down to the very core of what our sports, athletes and musicians represent. Monster is a way of life lived and led by our athletes, sports, bands, fans and believers.

Never forgetting the endless amounts of thanks / respect each skater owes to Duane Peters for the tricks he created like the disaster, my favorite trick, or the invert revert and the “loop of death”.

The date was July 18, 2010 Mesa, Arizona at the Skateboarding school known as Kids that  Rip!! Mike V kicked off his Glory Bound Tour.  The event kicked off around 5:30 pm and started with a best trick contest for the locals.

Cam Sedliek took third place with a big nose grab air walk down the wedge.

Miklo Ramirez grabbed second place with a big kick-flip nose slide down the hubba. Lastly, Deshawn Jordan was destroying the rail as well and most notably a huge tray flip down the wedge.

Soon after, the demo started with Kristian Svitak, Ben Raybourn and Cyril Jackson joining Mike, Bill and Duane.

It seemed that the pent up energy from riding on a bus was  getting directed at the parks 4 foot slam wall.

It was exciting to see the guys who defined aggression in skateboarding for me growing up as a kid.  They were just killing it!