TAKE IT...
(From page 55) which drew some of the loudest
cheers, were in Tommy Guerrero's repertoire
way back in 1976. Now they're calling them
new. It just goes to show that what goes
around comes around.
Steve Schneer was keeping the sadistic
types in the crowd very amused with some
burly slams. Andy Howell pulled off what was
perhaps the move of the weekend. Pounding
up to the lower section of the dual height,
vert wall, he slapped over a sliding rock and
roll the full length, then freefell off the end
into a perfect four-point landing. Too bad no
one informed him that practice runs don't
count for contest points. But then again,
maybe he was making a statement about
what really counts. The first twenty-five of
fifty-seven skaters eventually entered the
arena to battle for posession of the top 26
spots and thus qualify for the finals.
The gates opened and the pace did not
let up until it was all decided. Everyone was
glad to get off their asses and get down to
some serious ramp abuse. The crowd would
have it no other way.
Mike Folmer led a contingent of older
veterans, including Jim Gray, Steve Schneer
and Keith Meek. Folmer blended new age
streetstyle tricks with traditional freestyle
moves of years gone by. Gray, using fluid
moves along with some aggro laybacks,
showed everyone that even though he wasn't
going to run away with top honors, he was
going to have some fun. Schneer put in a
respectable appearance with strong
contemporary moves. Meekster used surf-
inspired carves along with smooth airs and
vertical wall snappers to fully establish what
should already be known. Style and
radicalness are not necessarily two separate
aspects of the art and are, in fact, one and
the same when a true master works the
brush. These four skaters summed up the
essence of skating as a whole and streetstyle
in particular. A true desire to skate is not
diluted but enhanced by what is or is not
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available to skate. Complacency breeds
stagnation while adversity breeds diversity.
The rest of the field came out smoking, too.
Everyone was ready for business. Eric.
Dressen led the pack with authority and a
total disregard for right angles or the
improbable. Banging frontside airs off the
vert wall and launching big airs off the jump
ramp, he seemed almost relaxed in the maze
of harsh transitions and immovable.
obstacles. Eric has kept his street roots
well-watered.
Not surprisingly, Tommy Guerrero also
blazed above most. He has been at the top
of the street scene since he won the first
streetstyle contest in San Francisco several
years ago, and he shows no sign of letting
up. Utilizing an extensive knowledge of
traditional freestyle, while launching some
of the highest airs of all types off the jump
ramp, Tommy showed everyone that
streetstyle means "versatyle."
Hosoi was laying down high-speed carves
on the 45° ramp and blasting airs in his own
patented style, finishing off each run with a
marathon, multiple 360° nose wheelie carve.
Kaupas, Reategui, Caballero, Ruff,
Cunningham and Vallely rounded out the top
ten qualifying positions. Vallely was uniquely
impressive, not only for his clean skating, but
also for carrying on an important tradition.
established by Caballero, Hosoi and a few
other heavyweight vertical skaters who can
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rip anything they come up against. This
singular ability, probably the truest yardstick
for measuring a skater's talent, is unfortu-
nately overlooked in rigid contest formats.
Sunday afternoon, and the wait was on.
Professional freestyle was on the agenda.
Having begun in the afternoon, it dragged
beyond the attention span of all concerned.
The level of skating, though, was undeniably
incredible.
Rodney Mullen surprised no one by
cranking out one unbeatable routine after.
another, eventually leading everyone to the
conclusion that Rodney doesn't even have
to skate his last run to clinch it. He does
anyway, and those capable of appreciating
the intricacies and extreme difficulty of his
tricks can only grin and shake their heads.
Pierre Andre gave Mullen his strongest
competition, but when the Mutt gets off and
running, nobody is fast enough to catch him
and chain him back up. Pierre ended up with
a much-deserved second.
Per Welinder, who also qualified for the
upcoming streetstyle finals, locked up third.
Versatility and consistency-Welinder
obviously knows the meaning of both.
By 4:30 p.m., with the freestyle event still
in progress, things began to get a bit ugly.
Cases in point: Eric Dressen was given an
"official and last warning" for skating out of
bounds. (Isn't that exactly what streetstyle
is?) Reategui was harrassed and detained.
for doing whatever. After the encircling crowd
hurled a fusillade of insults, security was
swayed into releasing him. Local enforcers
became targets for makeshift catapults,
which hurled water balloons the width of the
velodrome, Duane Peters, having made a
cameo appearance, got ousted by security
for skating. After a high-speed plant
massacre, Duane became the object of a
very intense, bleacher-clearing, foot pursuit.
Vainly hurling skates and spectators at his
pursuers, Peters was eventually subdued by
the blue meanies and disposed of. What's
that old saying about idle minds?
Freestyle had obviously gone on too long.
Not to take anything away from the free-
stylers, they all have extraordinary talent and.
for that very reason, deserve much better.
They should be given an event for them
alone, where their talent can be fully
appreciated as the main attraction, not as an
opening act for the headliner. If the powers
that be are a little more thoughtful in planning
future events, it will be appreciated by all.
5:00 p.m. Having skated their "scheduled"
practice session at 11:00 a.m., many
streetstyle finalist found themselves int
various states of limbo. An anxious crowd of
six to eight hundred stared intently, waiting
for the drama they hoped would soon unfold
before them. It did. After the first run it was
clear that the top spot was going to be up
for grabs. Highlights were many:
Whipping out a "real" street skate, Gator
took his soul skating approach to the limit
and ripped up the course on a 34" stick.
Rogowski may be a contemporary skater, but
he shows the traits of a long lost breed with
his inimitable style and class, two qualities
which are lacking in too many and appre-
ciated by too few.
Corey O'Brien ended his ride with a nose-
clearing snot-shot.
Tony Hawk popped flawless, vertical wall
airs and clean downhill rock 'n' roll sliders,
topping off his run with a ramp-launched ollie
over a major portion of the platform ramp.
Lucero busted out with some exceptional
tricks, including a vertical wall r-n-r with a
freefall re-entry onto the transition ramp.
Caballero threw out a blazing and con-
sistent run, which included an extremely high
backside 360° air and a 180° ollie off the
jump ramp, putting him in first after one run.
Christian's pre-first-run dance was a
definite highlight to a routine that eventually
lost its rhythm.
Top first-day qualifier Eric Dressen had an
unexpectedly flawed first run, probably due
to several lacerations on his fingers, incurred
while adjusting a steel barrel obstacle.
Unfortunate, yes, but the name of the game
is streetstyle and Eric knows what comes
with the territory. Needless to say, no one was
going to count him out yet.
With the sun setting, the second and final
run was at hand. Everyone seemed to sense
Opposite Page: Mike Vallely was
playing with the devil by
attempting and making maneuvers
like this ollie to 50/50 down the
stair rail on the Velodrome track.
Duane Peters was spinning.
Tommy Guerrero was winning with
another flawless performance.
This Page: Southern skate cult,
Eddie Reategul and Craig Johnson
trade talk with "The Kid" from
the Cult. Below Left: Rodney
Mullen in a pinch during a delicate
re-entry. Photos by Luke Ogden.
a climactic finish. The artificially lit arena only
added to the mood. Soon it would all be
history. As it happened:
Dark horse Bryce Kanights pounded out
a strong run and moved up ten spots to pull
out a respectable fifteenth.
Per Welinder, probably fatigued from the
marathon freestyle event, began his run with
a varial off the jump ramp only to land in a
board ejecting skull slam. Per passed up a
re-start, figuring he'd probably had enough
for one day.
Lance pulled off his strongest run.
culminating with an ad-lib barrel roll.
Vallely highlighted a clean run with a lofty
air-walk varial.
Christ came close with an aggressive run
that included a one-footed judo air and
backside 360° air, but once again he fell and
lost a chance at the top spot.
Hawk, Reategui, Lucero and Kaupas all
pulled off similarly strong runs, but each one
fell short of topping Stevie's first run score.
Caballero came on to crowd-favorite
cheers. He pulled off a tight run in his usual
fashion but had one uncharacteristic fall.
Stevie now had to let it all ride on the merits
of his first run.
Guerrero pulled in and pulled off a blazing
run while the crowd screamed. Tommy lofted
bio-airs and popped ollies at will, everywhere.
Watching his effortless sliders up and down
the 30° rail, you got the feeling that Tommy
was in his environment. After topping off a
perfect run with some vintage freestyle, he
thrust his board into the air in hopeful.
anticipation of victory.
Dressen was now the master of his own
destiny. Everyone knew he had the
ammunition to pull it off; it was just a matter
of hitting the target. Eric flew off the jump
ramp and seemed in control. After an ollie
slap off the barrel, he set up to assault the
vertical wall. Everything froze as Eric popped
up the wall, grabbed his rail and pulled. Not
hitting it quite right, he fought gravity, but the
law won and the board fell from his feet. Eric
skated hard for the rest of his run but had
to settle for second place, as his one mistake
proved to be fatal. Guerrero took it. ■
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