am
BANS
Age: 18
Ben Shroeder
Hometown: Monrovia, CA
Years Skating: 4%
Favorite Spot: Chris Robison's,
Lance's (new), Eagle Rock (now
gone)
Favorite Trick: Grinds and slides are
about the most fun
Favorite Skater: Philips, Miller Monty
Future: Go Back East and skate the
metal ramps. Enter all the contests/
can.
nsa
There is
no disputing the fact that
wherever you find a sturdy half-pipe you'll
find an able crew of ramp rippers working
the limits. A few skaters usually stand out
from the rest of the pack gathered on the
rollout decks. These are the guys who draw
hoots and back-slaps from their fellow
boarders. Now, more than ever, we're see-
ing hot pockets of skaters everywhere we go.
We caught up with some of the hottest
amateur skaters on the NSA regional circuit
as they try for a slot in the National cham-
pionships at an as yet un-named location.
We'll start close to home, with some of the
best of the west and sample the action at
the Southwest regionals at Del Mar and the
Northwest champs in Visalia. Look for these
guys to apply Pro pressure in the near future.
Yesirree, Bob. Dig the new breed.
Looks like the competition is going to be
pretty tough this summer in the amateur
ranks. Some of these boys are ready to
be taken out of the bullpen and put into
the major leagues. They're still green but
ever so mean.
The contest format was standard
N.S.A. issue, regulated by Beau Brown
at mouthpiece and "the man from Down
Under," Dave Crabb, in charge of the
judging. The temperature was in the up-
per 90's, which created a crowd dilem-
ma that went something like this: They
couldn't get stoked because of heat
stroke, but they were getting stroked for
the $3.00 entrance fee. Several steroid
victims were in charge of keeping the
stoked-but-stroked crowd from bashing
through the front lines.
The contest started at 2:00 with 29
sponsored ams competing for the North-
72
west district titles. After the standard
double 45-second elimination round, the
top five skaters, Ben Schroeder, Jeff
Hedges, Jon "Fab" Fabriquer, Chris
Black and Greg Aguilar, were automatic-
ally placed in the final jam. Of the remain-
ing 15, five were to go to the final after:
the elimination jam.
It was during this session that a display
of new talent was witnessed and should
be noted accordingly. Chris Lowe was
consistantly riding his board backwards,
molding into some pretty high backside
airs, fastplants and varials. Local shred-
der Rob Harrison, alley-ooped his way
across the transitional medium any which
way he could. Mark Saito was realizing
his potential in the backside lien air
category. Don 'How Yo Day' Fisher was
constantly picking his nose from low to
high and putting in an overall "Jaws-like"
performance. Brando Pimiento, the man
who never frowns, pulled convincing lip
tricks as well as several elevator up Smith
slides and grinds. Joe Spallero was
blasting some impressive fastplants and
getting all tweaked on every air he pull-
ed. Troy Sliter destroyed the channel area
with vicious frontside ollies. When the
dust cleared and the announcer spoke,
Spallero, Harrison, Lowe, Fish and Saito
went into the final jam.
Before the final the crowd was begin-
ning to droop from the heat intensity,
while Bryce actually found out what a
redneck feels like. I guess we'll have to
thank the skate gods for Club Epic's skate
oasis, complete with pink flamingos,
swimming pool, patio furniture and air
conditioning. Though the crowd was less
than enthusiastic, the skating which they
were about to witness would soon cure
their heat-induced dilemma. Dominant
skaters in the final jam were as follows:
Ffej was ripping some extremely high
frontside floaters, with a couple of fakie
Caballerials thrown in for good measure.
Then he pulled a sadplant that seemed.
to hang forever. It was so sick and ugly
that it would've knocked a buzzard off a
sh-t wagon had there been one nearby.
Ben Schroeder, clearly the most abusive
skater there, didn't let his long lanky
frame confine him to certain fricks. This
guy skates with authority and literally
shreds. He blazed a couple of backside
Smith grinds that seemed utterly un-
makable; but...you guessed it. Unfor-
tunately a couple of mishaps kept him
from capitalizing on his potential. Look for
this guy in the future. The Fab was simply
fab, action-packed beyond belief. Up
elevator Smith grinds, one-footed airs,
judo airs and all sorts of handplant varia-
tions compiled his runs. Chris Black also
drew some pretty cool lines along with
channel fastplants and a barrage of alley-
ooping airs. Possessed by the craving for
any type of air, Greg Aguilar utilized the
ramp to his upmost aerial ability. Chris
Lowe also had an outstanding run. As
always, there was a Fish in the bowl and
he was pickin' his nose.
When the jam was through, the
temperature was hotter and the skaters
were worked. All these guys ripped, and
they deserve recognition. Look for them
in the future, because they are the new
breed.
By Eric Horn
THAVISHER
No drag-ass here. Ben Shroeder picks up the
sa
Jeff Hedges
Age: 21
Hometown: Menlo Park, CA
Years Skating: 6
Favorite Spot: Paige Mill Ramp
Favorite Trick: Inverts of course, but
frontside grinds 'cause I can't do em
Favorite Skater: Neil Blender
Future: Travel U.S. and someday
Europe.
Age: 17
Mark Salto
Hometown: Orinda, CA
Years Skating: 4
Favorite Spot: Moraga
Favorite Trick: Backside Olie
Favorite Skater: Caballero
Future: Travel, go pro some year
Age: 20
Greg Aguilar
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Years Skating: 5
Favorite Spot: Anywhere, I never get
a chance to like a spot before it's gone
Favorite Trick: Frontside 50/50 rail
grab frontside air in
Favorite Skater: No one
Future: Pro.
Age: 17
John Fabriquer
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Years Skating: 6
Favorite Spot: Lance's Ramp
Favorite Trick: Sweepers
Favorite Skater: Gator, Chris Miller
Future: Tum pro someday. Enjoy the
sport. I'd like to travel Back East,
maybe Europe.
73