It is presumed that everyone would
know as common knowledge that Rodney
Mullen is the best freestyler in the world.
At least the best that has been witnessed
in these circles. The Mutt took the first
place honors. He charmed the judges with
his happy-go-lucky (cute) style. At the
apex of some of his moves, he would
smile and wave his hand..
This raps up yet another contest. In a
couple of weeks is the Canadian &
International Amateur Skateboard
Championships in Calgary, which has to
be covered, and a week after that is the
Rusty Harris Series finale at Del Mar. It's
going to be a busy month.
A lot of thanks should go to the people
who are making this series possible.
THANKS, THANKS, THANKS,
THANKS....
enveloped the remainder of my meal
within this commodity. That's what's so
good about these local mealies. You can
pack it up and go with it at a moment's
notice.
I rushed back over towards the slalom
area, grabbed the camera (another hassle
was that there were no photographers
here for the event; therefore, I had to take
care of the responsibility of recording the
visuals), and Don Hoffman was signing
today's slalom qualifying off for the day. I
missed it.
I was not meant for this day. I'm sure
the qualifying was radical and close
though. When I was watching the practice
earlier, I could see who was gonna be
ripping. Namely, Galvin, Weaver and
Swartzbaugh in the open amateurs and in
the Pro/Am, Rick Howell, Jim Korten,
Brian Martin, Steve Evans and Tony
Magnusson were looking the fastest.
That was it for the first day. It was about
time. I could now concentrate on resting
my consciousness for the finals tomorrow.
At least that's what I wanted to do, but
Potato Head and Gnit had other plans.
The call was to see the BLASTERS at
some L.A. nitery, with first a stop at yet
another local Mexican scarfing establish-
ment. I ended up passed out in the front
seat of the Firebird listening to "Mr. Mojo
Risin" on the A.M.
Next morning, overslept and was
almost late for the most 360's event. A
handful of people turned out for this event
with the likes of Dale Smith, Rodney
Mullen, Per Welinder and Frank Blood in
entry.
First place went to Rodney Mullen with
46 revolutions, second place to Frank
Blood with 29, and third to Per Welinder,
who barely twirled in at 27. I've found that
a majority of the populace understands
20
and appreciates 360's more than any
other move, except for handstands
maybe. Probably because they can relate
it easily to Dorothy Hamil spinning in the
"Follies." Only other skaters can under-
stand the difficulty involved in 50/50
Caspers, Rococos, etc. Ordinary, average
people just stand confused, perplexed,
very unsure if what they saw was what
they saw. Funny how some people are
like that.
Just then Keith Butterfield came up to
me and asked me why I wasn't around for
the Open Amateurs Freestyle."Oh no, not
again. Who won?" "I did," Keith said
proudly. "Bill Swartzbaugh got second, Bill
Wahl third, Dennis Haber fourth, and Jeff
Heath came in fifth." Thanks, Keith.
There was now to be a period of time
before the slalom finals were to com-
mence, apparently there was some
trouble with the timing system. In the
meantime, a full-on impromptu skate
session ensued in the banked freestyle
area. There was Tony Jetton, Potato
Head, Frank Blood and Stacy Peralta.
Midway through this foray, "The Jer
Valdez showed up for some impromptuing
of his own. He rode in his usual fashion.
An old and new crop of riders were
pervading the area. Steve Caballero,
Rodney Mullen, Billy Ruff, Mike Smith and
Chris May showed the ol'timers some
new tricks.
Don Hoffman says that it is still going to
be a while before the slalom gets under
way. Stacy came by where I was standing
with Jim Goodrich in tow. "How about
joining us for a quesadilla?" he offered.
He didn't have to ask me twice. At JJ's I
ordered healthily. Jim and Stacy asked
me if the Texas article in THRASHER,
authored by T.A., had gotten any negative
feedback. Of course, I had to tell them the
truth, and the fact that there were only
three negative comments gotten. They
Left: To a flashy and furious funky beat, Primo
Desiderio wowed the crowd and the judges and
placed himself in a hard-earned fourth
should be grateful that all the dirty stuff
was edited by T-ED. Just then, a slovenly
Gnit came running up with the camera
equipment loudly mumbling about how I
was missing the slalom again. I had to
suck down the rest of the scarf, handed
the rest of my XX to Gnit, and told him to
pay Juanita when she came to collect.
I made it just in time for the last two
runs of the day. I had just missed the
fastest time of the day, which was a
speedy 6.37 acquired by Jim Korten. As it
stood now, Jim Korten and Steve Evans
were head-to-heading it for the honors.
The last race was close, but Evans pulled
it out cause Jim DQ-ed and I got off the
required snapshots and felt half-satisfied
with my performance.
Everyone was now getting ready for the
freestyle finals. The riders rode in the
intricately concentrated manner that is
customary to their lot. The varying
degrees of difficulties exceeded the
normal capacities usually associated with
contests of this sort, but this was a major
deal and nobody was going to slouch.
Mike Foster, an unaffiliated skater in this
competition, took sixth place. Mike was
leaning towards the smooth, graceful
style. He performed difficult red-faced
maneuvers that some of the younger
competitors were reluctant to try. In fifth
place was Steve Caballero. So far this
series, Steve has proved to be an
adequate all-round skateboarder. He
showed how he could rip vertical, now he
shows how he can shred the horizontal.
Primo Desiderio, riding for Madrid,
demonstrated his unique, funky style,
earning a healthy fourth. At the second
and third place spots were Swedes Per
and Per. This was the big showdown,
Welinder vs. Holknekt. The two dueled it
out severely but Per (Welinder) came out
ahead of Per (Holknekt).
Above: Keith Butterfield, top amateur freestyler,
looked on during the Pro-Am finals as the
heavies dueled it out in the finals.
Above right: Tony Jetton made an appearance
after a long absence to judge and be involved
in this weekend event.
Right: The slalomers celebrate their victories
with the appropriate Barley Bubble and Broads.
Below right: The top three freestylers in the
world. (From left to right) Rodney Mullen (first),
Per Welinder (second), and Per Holknekt
(third).
974
RUSTY HARRIS
PRO-AM SERIES
SKATEPARK
PARAMOUNT NO. 3
OPEN AMATEUR
SLALOM
1. Bill Swartzbaugh
2. Tim Galvan
3. David Weaver
FREESTYLE
1. Keith Butterfield
2. Bill Swartzbaugh
3. Bill Wahl
4. Dennis Haber
5. Jeff Heath
PRO-AM
SLALOM
1. Steve Evans
2. Jim Korten
3.Rick Howell,
4. Brian Martin
FREESTYLE
1. Rodney Mullen
2. Per Welinder
3. Per Holknekt
4. "Primo" Desiderio
5. Steve Caballero
6. Mike Foster
7. Bill Ruff
8. Fred Flavell
9. Mike McGill
10. Anthony Rocco
11. Tim Metz
12. Tony Magnusson
13. Chris May
360's CONTEST
1. Rodney Mullen 46
2. Frank Blood 29
3. Per Welinder 27
21